Within the Ranks
by Denali Prime
Summary: A long time ago, a deal was made between two of Cybertron's most powerful leaders. Earth and its inhabitants will suffer. But not if Spade and the Autobots have anything to do about it. Spade's changes are nearly complete, but as the transformation progresses, only some will keep their life. Who will lose theirs?
1. Soaring

**Chapter 1- Soaring**

**Well, hello, hello, hello. Yes, I had Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events in my head when I wrote that first sentence. So, this is the first chapter to Within the Ranks, the DOTM part to the Spade Quadrilogy, which sadly, is almost over. But, when it does end, it will not mean that I'll stop writing altogether. So, let's get to it!**

**Warnings: violence, language, innuendo, language, darkness, etc. Did I already say language? I don't know if I'll add in more sexual content, so it'll be rated M just to be safe. And for the language.**

**Disclaimers: I own Spade and the plot. Transformers belongs to Hasbro. Lucky bastards… And I don't own any High School Musical songs that were horribly sung in this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Um, Spade? Why exactly did you bring me up here?" Mikaela questioned.

"Because I need someone to witness the amazing awesomeness that's going to take place today."

Mikaela and I were currently standing on the roof of the new base in Washington D.C. We moved here after Annabelle was captured because the 'Cons knew of our location, but we still didn't know how. But this base was much better. It used to be D.C.'s Department of Health and Human Services. There was a lot more room for the Autobots and NEST soldiers and it was also a great cover.

I brought her to the roof because I need her to witness the amazing awesomeness, as stated before, that was going to take place on this very day. Starscream mentioned a few months ago that as the vessel of Allspark, I should be able to do more than create orbs and shields. I didn't want to admit it, but he was right. So, with vigorous training and practice, I learned how to do even more.

I'm sorry, I lied. It was all accidental.

A small group of Autobots and NEST soldiers, including me, left the base when an energon detector (courtesy of Wheeljack) went off in New Jersey one day. Chromia was standing next me, fighting against the Decepticons, when she was shot in the side. The wound was nearly fatal and she was losing energon quickly. I became worried and tried to protect her by creating a shield until the battle was over, but instead, I ended up healing her with Allspark's power. On accident. Of course, Ratchet and every other Cybertronian and human on that battle ground was shocked.

Then, I learned how to use energy beams instead of orbs all the time. On accident. Two civilians, a mother and her young daughter, were trying to get off the battleground. We thought that the entire area had been cleared out. But the mother said that she refused to leave until she found her daughter, who ran off while she wasn't looking. They ended up hiding in one of the stores in the city in which we fought, but once it was nearly blown up, they tried to escape. It almost didn't end well. The two reminded me of Sarah and Annabelle, so when a Decepticon fired a shot at them, I quickly ran in front of them, any regard for my own safety lost. Instead of creating two orbs, in my haste, two energy beams came out of my hands. They destroyed the shot that was fired, as well as the 'Con that delivered it. And, like the last accidental discovery, we were all shocked.

Over time, I also gained the ability to make larger shields. Optimus-sized shields. Needless to say, they're freaking huge.

But there was one last power that I've always wanted to have, ever since I was a little kid. The power of natural flight. I wanted to fly the way Superman could, without planes or gliders or any sort of technology, even though I was fully aware that he was just a made-up character. So, my plan was to jump off the roof however many times to see if instead of falling, I would hover or something like that.

"Amazing awesomeness?" Mikaela snorted. Her legs were dangling off the side of the roof. "What incredible stupidness are you planning on doing?"

"I'm gonna jump off the roof to see if I can fly." Mikaela looked less than surprised. Actually, she looked like a mix between amused and pissed.

"You brought me up here so that I could watch you kill yourself?" she asked incredulously. I gave her a shit-eating grin and got ready to jump off the roof. "Wait a minute. Do _not _jump. Do you have any idea how crazy you sound?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Do you have any idea how crazy I sound every day? Do you have any idea how much you people ignore it because you know it's completely normal for me? Even Ratchet got over it."

She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at me condescendingly. "No, no, no. I refuse to witness this."

I sighed and faced her completely. "Look, this is a great idea."

"No, it's a _terrible_ idea."

"No, here's how it's a great idea. See, if I can fly, that'll give us an edge."

"The Decepticons have Seekers! How will one flying, small-ish being give us an edge against multiple flying, large beings?"

"You just said it. I may be eleven feet tall, but I'm still considerably smaller than the other Seekers. If learn how to fly, I can assault them constantly while they're in the air, and they'll never see me. In fact, they might shoot at each other when they _think _they see me, but end up hurting each other. It's ingenious!"

"No, it's dumb. Spade, Optimus could get here at any minute!"

"What are you talking about?!" I began to yell. "They're in freaking Russia!"

"Ukraine."

"Same thing!"

"No, it's not. Look, they radioed in and said that they entered restricted US airspace an _hour _ago. Do you know how close we are to the airport? You have ten minutes tops. How do you think he's gonna feel when he sees his eleven foot tall girlfriend jumping off the roof like an idiot? How do you think he's gonna feel when sees that his girlfriend's best friend just watched while she did?"

I stopped for a minute to think about the real reason as to why she didn't want me to make the jump. And then, it hit me. "Ohhhhhh. This isn't about my safety! This is about _you _not getting chewed out!" I accused. She didn't look surprised or offended by accusation in the slightest.

"Exactly! It's not like I don't care about you, but Prime's already pissed! Lennox said so."

I jumped up and glared. "Not _my _Optimus!"

Mikaela glared back. "Oh, what? Just because he's him, he can't get mad?"

"Exactly!" Then, I sighed and turned to face the edge of the building. "Look, I'm wasting time by arguing with you. I'm making the jump."

"Spade," she said warningly. I took a few steps back narrowed my eyes in determination.

"I'll get a running start. Make sure you watch, okay?" She stood up and blocked my way.

"No," she growled. I huffed and looked her in the eye.

"Now, Mikaela. This can go one of two ways: either you move aside calmly and let me do this, or I can run right into you, jump off the roof, and take you with me." She remained quiet and her glare didn't falter. But as I stared her down, she eventually sighed and gave up.

"You're a stupid idiot," she murmured defeatedly. I snorted and tried not to smile.

"Hey, that's a little offensive. Most of my body is made of metal. I'll be fine." With that being said, I began to run. When I got to the edge of the roof, I jumped and tried not to look down. For a second, I thought I was actually flying and excitement bubbled up within me. But then, I was falling. Dammit. I screamed as I fell to the ground. The roof was a good 40 feet high, so when I landed, it startled a few of the patrolling soldiers.

"Ow!" I yelled. After muttering a string of colorful words, I stood up and dusted myself off, smirking at the Spade-shaped imprint that was left in the asphalt. I looked up at Mikaela bashfully, ignoring the frightened, staring soldiers. Considering the fact that she was on top of a building that's about 40 feet tall, I had to yell up at her. "It didn't work. But I left my mark on the world!"

"Yeah, and I hope that proves that you can't fly! And that you're a stupid idiot!" she yelled down. I huffed and narrowed my eyes.

"So I've been told," I replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna try again!" Her eyes nearly bulged out their sockets.

"Spade, why the fuck would you try again?!" she screeched.

"This is an experiment, Mikaela! In order to get valid results, you have to make repeated trials! Don't you remember science fair?" I responded.

She stared at me blankly. "I failed science fair."

"So did I, but I still know the basics! I'll be up there in a minute." With that being said, I walked into the base and found the stairs. I was greeted by several humans and 'Bots that had taken a like to me. As I went up the stairs, I thought about the limited amount of time I had, so I ran instead of walked. Once I got there, Mikaela was waiting impatiently. I stopped a few feet away from the edge and got a running start, repeating the steps from my first trial.

When I jumped, I only fell again and could imagine Mikaela rolling her eyes. For the last time, I climbed the stairs and went to the same spot that I stood in in the previous two trials. Three's my lucky number, so I'm hoping that this will be my lucky trial.

"Spade, seriously?" Mikaela said, exasperation evident in her tone. I glanced at her briefly.

"This is my last trial. I'm gonna do it a little differently, though."

"You aren't supposed to change anything."

"Oh, so you _do_ know you're experiment rules," I teased.

"I give up," she sighed. Her phone vibrated and she checked to see who it was. "You have three minutes before they get here." I smirked at the irony.

"I got this." I ran straight for the edge for the last time. But instead of just jumping, I concentrated on Allspark's power. I don't know why I didn't try this before. When I first learned to use his/her power, I had to concentrate on the energy coming from him/her to create the orb. So, it should be the same for this right?

When I jumped, I closed my eyes and extended my arms as if I had just jumped out of a plane, all my concentration on Allspark's power. And, instead of that terrible feeling of falling, I felt as if I was only suspended above the ground. Opening my eyes slowly, I looked around and saw that I was… flying. Holy shit, I'm flying!

"Mikaela!" I screeched. While in the air, I changed from 'Superman' position to a regular standing position. I turned in the air, careful as to not fully lose concentration. Mikaela stood on the roof, jaw on the floor, eyes bulging out. Another shit-eating grin was plastered on my face. "I'm flying!"

Focusing on flight, I went back into 'Superman' position and propelled my body forward, gaining speed as I went along. I flew higher and higher, above the clouds and into the sky, hooting in delight. This is flight. Natural flight. I've never felt so accomplished! At inhuman speeds, I was soaring through the air, looking at the world from a different point of view, reveling in the feeling of the wind whipping against my face. At this point, I felt like singing a High School Musical song.

"I'm soarin', flyin'! There's not a star in heaven that I can't reach!" I sang loudly. I changed the lyrics a little bit, but I was the only one flying here. "Don't know the words! But I feel so free, I feel so free!" Suddenly, I got a comm from Ratchet. Over time, Allspark continued to change my body and I was only a few months away from becoming a full Cybertronian. I just got my comms last month.

"Spade, Prime and the others have arrived."

"Copy that," I replied. Then, I grinned. "Hey, Ratchet. Guess what?"

"What is it, youngling?" he asked warily. In his experience, whenever I said 'guess what', it was something bad. But not this time.

"I'm flying. Right now. Come outside." On the other end, I heard startled grunts and other noises, so I shut off the comm link and turned around, flying back in the direction of the base. Then, I realized something. I don't know how to land. Shit, this isn't gonna go well. My altitude steadily dropped as I got closer and closer to the base. Ratchet was standing there, looking in the sky for me with a skeptical look on his face.

"Ho! Ratchet!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Oh wait. I don't have lungs anymore. At that realization and the look on Ratchet's face as I got closer to base, my grin widened to impossible width. "I'm flying! But you might wanna get out of the way because I don't know how to land!"

As I got closer and closer to the ground, I closed my eyes and braced for a painful impact. And painful, it was. I crashed into the asphalt, picking up some chunks of the road as I came down. I didn't stop until I ran into the tire of a truck that was parked outside. I groaned and picked myself up slowly, glancing around at everyone and doing a basic systems check to make sure nothing was dislodged from the landing. Several soldiers were looking at me the same way Ratchet was, awe, shock, and disbelief on their faces. There was some murmuring amongst them as I smiled cheekily at all of them and crossed my arms across my chest.

"So… who pissed off my mech?"

* * *

When I entered the base, Optimus was in his alt mode, sitting quietly. Everyone was trying to get him talk, but it was no use. Honestly, I was concerned about what happened in Ukraine. It takes a lot to piss Optimus off. I walked over to the Prime and sat down on the ground next to him. I didn't try to get him to talk, however. He needed to calm down a little bit before he was willing to talk.

"Hey," I said quietly. To my surprise, he revved his engine in response. "I don't know what happened in Ukraine, but it was obviously bad. It takes a lot to make you mad. I'm not expecting you to respond, but I wanted to let you know that I love you. And that I missed you. And I'm glad that you're back." My voice softened to try and calm him down. Just when I thought he was going to say something, Charlotte Mearing, our new-ish liaison, entered the base with her assistant, talking away on her phone.

She looked furious, but I think that that's just the way her face is fixed. Her assistant pulled out some tennis shoes and laid them on the ground for her. Mearing took her feet out of her uncomfortable looking heels and slid them into the tennis shoes instead. Then, she kept walking and hung up the phone. I rolled my eyes when she began to question Lennox and bitched about him calling her 'ma'am'. I have come up with several reasons for this.

Either she is a shemale, a transvestite, or afraid to be considered old. When I explained this to Lennox and Ironhide, they both laughed their asses off, but the former hasn't been able to look at her the same way since.

"Look, she's mad, you're mad, I'm mad because you are… but it won't solve anything if you ignore us. Mearing probably has the answers you're looking for, so I think you should talk to her. Okay?" I stood up and patted his door. Once again, he revved his engine.

I walked over to Mearing and stopped her for a second. "Is this important, Miss Witwicky?" she asked impatiently. I ignored her tone and knelt down.

"Yes. I, uh… I'm sure you've noticed that Optimus is in a bad mood. So, we were kinda hoping you had some answers for him. I don't know why he's mad but… he's our leader and we all care about him. And we don't like it when he's upset," I said kindly. When I speak to her, I avoid using the word 'ma'am' because I know that she'll react negatively to that.

Mearing didn't say anything, but she looked Optimus and sighed before walking over to his alt. I smiled and rose to my full height. Unlike Galloway, Mearing actually had a heart, even though it was pretty hard to tell most of the time.

"So, what is this? This silent treatment?" Mearing asked sarcastically. I frowned but laughed lightly. This is how Mearing shows that she cares, even a little bit. I strolled back to Optimus and sat down next to him again.

"We've seen that and this is not that," Ironhide replied.

"Definitely not," Wheeljack said.

"This is worse. Spade, do something," the weapons specialist said. I smirked and turned my head to the side.

"Orion," I whispered. "She's gonna give you the answers you want. But you gotta say something." I slid over a few feet to give him some room to transform. And when he did, he slammed his hands down on either side of Mearing, his joints hissing as smoke was released from several parts of his body. Yep, he's pissed.

"You lied to us. Everything humans know of our planet we were told had been shared. So why was this found in human possession?" he growled, pointing to some strange piece of technology sitting on a small table. I saw fear in the director's eyes for a fraction of a second before she covered it up quickly.

"We were in the dark on this also. It was Director Only clearance at Sector Seven until now." She looked back at her assistant. "The bag."

The young woman fumbled with the multitude of bags in her arms. "Which bag?" she whispered.

Mearing narrowed her eyes and growled out, "Hermès. Birkin. Green ostrich! Oh, my God," she shook her head as her assistant gave her the green bag. I snorted and put my hands in my pockets. In case you were wondering where I got clothes that would fit an eleven-foot-tall female, well… Lennox made a call and that's all he told me. I was given 13 outfits, considering I was supposed to grow another foot in about 14 days.

"This is a secret few men knew, and fewer still remain alive. Allow me to please introduce to you two of NASA's founding mission directors and astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin, one of the first two men to step on the moon."

My head snapped up when she mentioned Buzz Aldrin's name. He's here? Right now?! I've always wanted to meet him! The retired astronaut entered the room, along with NASA's founding mission directors. He looked up at Optimus with awe in his eyes. Optimus straightened and his optics softened. When Buzz saw me standing next to him, his eyes widened even more.

"Sir? Optimus Prime," Mearing introduced.

"From a fellow space traveler, it's a true honor," the astronaut said.

Optimus smiled gently and nodded. "The honor is mine." Buzz looked at me, his smile widening.

"And you must be Spade Witwicky. I've heard a lot about you and your brother," he said. I smiled and nodded as well.

"Sir. It's an honor to meet you."

"Our entire space race of the 1960s, it appears, was in response to an event," Mearing said.

"Our astronauts investigated a crashed alien ship. No survivors on board," one of the mission directors added. Beside me, Optimus frowned and I couldn't help but think that he knew who was on the ship.

"We were sworn to secrecy by our Commander in Chief," the retired astronaut stated.

"A total of thirty five people knew the real plan at NASA."

"Soviets managed to land unmanned probes. Somehow they must have… picked up that fuel rod."

"We believe the Russians deduced that the rod was a fissionable fuel assembly, believed they had it mastered and tried to harness it at Chernobyl."

"We landed six missions in all. We took hundreds of photos and samples, locked them away forever when the moon program was shut down."

I tried to pay attention, but honestly, my brain shut down after Mearing started talking.

Ironhide arched an eyebrow ridge. "Well, did you search the crash vault?"

The four of them were silent and the question remained unanswered, leading us to believe that the answer was no. Optimus sighed and closed his optics. "The ship's name was the Ark. I watched it escape Cybertron myself. It was carrying an Autobot technology which would have won us the war. And… its captain… my sire… The great Sentinel Prime, the technology's inventor. He was commander of the Autobots before me."

Well. This is… new… Wait, how long has he had a father?!

"It's imperative that I find it, before the Decepticons learn of its location. The _Xantium _will be able to take us there and… you must pray it is in time."

Mearing nodded and pulled out her cell phone. "I'll have the Wreckers contacted. Hopefully, you'll be able to leave sometime this week."

::Spade, can I speak with you privately?:: Optimus commed me.

::Yeah. I kinda need to talk to you.::

The two of us went to his office, which was considerably larger than the one he had in Diego Garcia. He shut and locked the Autobot sized door and gazed at me, regret shining in his optics. "Spade, I'm so sorry about early."

"Eh. I would have been mad too. Forget about it," I waved him off dismissively. "Though… it would have been nice to know that you had a father and all…" I trailed off, looking down at my hands.

"I'm sorry. I know I should not have kept that from you. As my mate, you deserve to know," he said remorsefully, bowing his head in shame. I smirked and shook my head, leaning against the wall.

"I'll forget about it… if you let me go to the moon with you," I said slyly. Optimus sat down behind his desk and tried his best not to smile. "And if you take me flying when you get the chance. I have something to show you."

"In the sky?" I shrugged and my smirked widened. As we spoke, I privately commed everyone that knew of my new ability and made sure they kept their mouths shut unless they wanted an orb shot up their ass or aft. Even though he struggled to do it, Optimus pulled his lips into a thin line. "You want to go to the moon?"

"Who doesn't wanna go to the moon?" I replied, letting out the laugh that I'd been holding in for a while now. "Come on. I'm small so I won't take up that much space. And I can be quiet if you ask me too. And if we run into any 'Cons, I can help! Pwease?" I gave him the puppy dog look that even Ironhide gave in to. Chuckling lightly, Optimus sighed and looked down at me.

"I'll allow you to go with Ratchet and I to the moon." I whooped and did a small dance. "But I'll have to think about flying."

"Now, when you say think, do you mean actually thinking about it? Careful consideration and long thought processes? Or does it mean you say you'll think about it, but in reality, you were always gonna say no?" I questioned. Optimus smiled warmly.

"The former, actually. I know that you've never been flying before, excluding the plane crash. But I believe that everyone deserves a decent flying experience. It almost makes me want to be a Seeker," he admitted.

I smiled widely. He thinks I've never had a decent flying experience. Boy, do I have a surprise for him. "Thank you, Orion. I promise I won't get in the way or do anything that's too stupid." I hummed and strolled over to his desk. "Orion Pax," I mused. "You know, on Earth, 'Pax' means peace. So I'm gonna start calling Orion Peace."

"Are you, now?" Optimus asked, clearly amused.

"Mmm-hmm. Hey, it could be worse. I could call you Constellation Peace. Orion's Belt, you know?" I grinned. He smiled at me coyly.

"You say that now, but if we were human, Pax would eventually be your last name," he countered. I gasped and dissolved into laughter. After pulling myself together, I stared him down.

"I've come to a conclusion based on that statement."

"Oh?"

"Yep. It's obvious you've been spending way too much time with me."

* * *

**I have completed two whole chapters, both of which total up to about 8000 words, in about three or four days. I'm finishing them way too fast, and it takes so long for Wednesday to come around. *sighs* Oh well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Because of my eagerness, I **_**might**_** give you another chapter today because I have another one ready. So, reviews make me happy and they fuel my chapters and now, my updating speed. Well, only good ones. Later!**

**Denali Prime out!**


	2. Return to Mission City

**Chapter 2- Return to Mission City**

**Thank you so much for the favourites, follows, and reviews! And as promised, here is the next chapter!**

* * *

"The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy can neither be created, nor destroyed…" I murmured to myself. "So that means if I were to die, Allspark's energy would… Well, what _would _it do?"

I was sitting in my office (which I would eventually grow into), trying to figure out what would happen if I died. It was a topic that had been on my mind for quite some time now, ever since my last birthday. At least it wouldn't be destroyed, as that goes against the Law. Surely Allspark would just find another vessel or maybe contain his/her energy inside a capsule or something. But if not that, then his/her energy would just be released and… I sighed. Now my brain is hurting.

When I felt a weak wave of nausea hit me, I gasped and put a hand on my stomach. This was new… I know I'm not pregnant because the last time I had sex was like ten months ago, due to my abnormal changes in height. And in addition to that, Ratchet said that since most of the required body parts for conception were destroyed in the process of my Cyberformation, it would be impossible for me to conceive until the transformation was complete.

So why did I suddenly want to throw up? Even my digestive tanks were still half flesh, the transformation in that area still incomplete. Another wave of nausea came, this time, stronger than the last. I thought that after the pain I felt during the celebration of Galloway's unceremonious discharge that the transformation in that area would've been complete since then. I stood up and got to the medbay as fast as possible, rapping on the door with my fist.

"Ratchet, can I talk to you?" I gagged and clutched at my abdomen. The door slid open seconds later, revealing Ratchet's holoform sitting on a berth next to Mikaela. Under different circumstances, I would have arched an eyebrow. The holoform disappeared as a few green beams ran across my body as Ratchet scanned me, worry present in his optics. "I think I'm gonna hurl," I groaned. The medic cursed and went into the supply room attached to the medbay, returning with a large, Cybertronian sized bucket.

I took it gratefully and gave a few strong coughs before I finally purged harshly, nearly filling the bucket to the brim with a suspiciously red liquid. A small gust of wind pushed the scent of the liquid into my nose, a strong coppery smell abusing my sensitive olfactory receptors. The liquid had a distinct purple-ish color, as if there was more red than blue to make the combination.

"This is blood," Ratchet said, astonished at the amount that was in the bucket. Even after purging my body of all of that, I was still nauseous, enough that I had to do it again. Ratchet took notice of that quickly, and fetched me another bucket before I repeated my previous actions.

"Ratchet, what's happening?" Mikaela asked. She was frowning and covering her nose as she watched me puke once again. He brought his attention to the brunette on the berth before directing it back to me.

"The Cyberformation is almost complete. The body of a Cybertronian can only take in energon as its lifeblood, so Spade's body is purging its systems of all the blood inside of it. The myphin is unable to break it down," he replied. I frowned and wiped my mouth, careful as to not move enough to make myself dizzy.

"How? My heart is a spark, now. I stopped making blood a long time ago. And what the hell is myphin?"

"It's short for myphichloric acid. It's like stomach acid for Cybertronians. It breaks down the components of energon so that it can be converted into energy for the Cybertronian that consumed it," Mikaela said. I stared at her for a while with my hands on my knees.

"You've obviously been spending too much time with Ratchet." She grinned and blushed lightly.

"The blood that remained in your body was never released. Energon mixed with blood is not the best combination. If you want to live, then you'll have to stay here in the medbay and purge the rest of the blood out of your systems and drink at least three cubes of medical energon a day."

"But—" I gagged again and Ratchet handed me yet another bucket, seconds before I threw up for the third time. "I have a mission to go on tomorrow and we probably won't be back until Tuesday. And after that, I'm going to the moon with you and Optimus. This can't take too long."

He unsubspaced a wrench and hit me on the head roughly, sending a Ratchet-the-wrench-wielder style glare my way. "You're not doing anything until this is over! You think you're fit to fight or go to the _moon_ in your condition? I'll contact Prime and let him know."

"No!" I yelled as I sat the third bucket down on the floor. "You can't tell him because then, he'll get worried and he won't let me go on the mission or to the moon! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"Youngling—"

"I still have a gag reflex! I can force myself to purge! Please, you _cannot _tell him!" I pleaded. Ratchet sighed and picked up two of the buckets before dumping their contents into the radiation bin. He then proceeded to take four samples from the last one before emptying that bucket as well.

"Fine, I won't say anything. But you will remain in this medbay until your systems are completely free of blood. And if Prime asks, you'll have to tell him," he snapped, crossing his arms over his chestplates.

I pouted and reached for one of the empty buckets. "Fine." Then, I proceeded to jam my fingers down my throat, provoking another wave of nausea. A few tears escaped my eyes as I did so, not from pain, but just from touching my uvula. It too, was still fleshy. After a few seconds of assaulting the punching-bag-like muscle, I threw up once again and grimaced at the strong smell of sweet copper. I jumped when something small and sharp was shoved into my arm. Once I was finished puking, I looked at the IV that Ratchet managed to sneak into my arm. Inside the bag was a bright blue liquid, which I recognized to be energon. As blood came out, energon would have to go in or I would end up fainting or something.

"Um, Ratch? How long will this take?" I asked nervously. As he rinsed out the buckets, he told me that it would take at least eight hours. I was sure that my eyes bulged out of their sockets at hearing that. With that much time away from Optimus, he was bound to get suspicious or worried, and the medbay would probably be his second stop as he searched for me, my office being the first. So, to save both of us the trouble, I commed him and let him know that I was going to be in the medbay for a while and not to come by because he might get infected or something and not to worry because it's no longer a big deal. I'm sure he was quite suspicious about what I was really doing, but I only half-lied. Neither Ratchet, nor I knew what would happen if someone else came in contact with the blood that I was currently forcing out of my body. Until Ratchet confirmed that the samples he so graciously took from the bucket were infected or dangerous in any way, the medbay would have to be off limits to all Cybertronians and humans.

Because of this, Ratchet gave Mikaela a hazmat suit to wear, as she would be staying in the medbay for the remainder of the day. I fully intended to tease her on how much time she had been spending with him lately. If I didn't know any better, I would say that the two are more than interested in each other and should start dating if they haven't already. And when Ratchet left the medbay to get some energon for himself, I immediately began bombarding my small, brunette friend with questions.

Unfortunately, they aren't dating, but she said that they have shared a few awkward conversations and both have been caught staring at each other at least twice. I laughed at her response and told her to go for it, since he was an obvious supporter of human/Cybertronian relationships, an example being Optimus and I. And I've never seen him yell at her like he does me and the other Autobots and NEST soldiers. I think that he's even let her get away with eating a cookie in front of him.

"I can't just ask him out. Where would we go? With the constant injuries from the Twins because of their stupid pranks, and you with your changes, we're always busy."

I smiled at her. "I can take care of the Twins. It doesn't have to be a _date_ date. Just… spend some time together away from work."

"And of your changes?" she asked.

"They're intermittent. And in eight hours, I'll be out of your hair."

She bit her bottom lip and looked down at her hands. Then, her gaze drifted back up to me. "How do you plan on taking care of the Twins?"

Smirking evilly, I sat the bucket down and didn't say anything, but it appeared that she got the message.

* * *

Eight and a half hours later, my systems were finally cleaned of all blood from my previously human body. As I drank the medical energon that Ratchet gave me, I watched the interaction between him and Mikaela. It was amusing, actually. It was quite obvious that there was some sort of attraction between the two, and like I was with Optimus, the brunette was unwilling to say anything about it because she wasn't completely sure about how he felt.

Tomorrow, while I was off in Mission City with a few others, I would make sure that neither pairs of Twins did anything to warrant any injury serious enough for Ratchet to deal with. He and Mikaela needed some time to themselves outside of just working in the same area. It wouldn't exactly be a date, but it was better than what they had been doing lately. I've observed them for over a year, and it became more and more noticeable to me and quite a few others on base. Even Sam was supporting them as a pair.

As I drank the energon, I noticed that the two seemed to be having a deep conversation while I was lost in my thoughts. A good look at the medic told me that he was truly enjoying spending time with Mikaela. He wasn't glaring, grimacing, muttering, or wielding a wrench. He was calm, peaceful, and happy and it seemed that she was the same. Grinning to myself, I quietly made my exit so that I could get some recharge for tomorrow. It was going to be a big day.

* * *

Today, a rainy, somewhat dull Tuesday here in D.C., I, along with Prowl, Elita-1, Jazz, and Bumblebee, were boarding a plane to get to Mission City. The plane ride was as boring as I expected it to be, since we were all trying to get a few more hours of rest, should anything major happen in the city. We didn't want a repeat of the battle of 2007 if we could help it, especially considering our small numbers.

The reason that we were going to Mission City was because I mentioned the Allspark shard that was supposedly still there and the energon detectors in the area had gone off several times. The Decepticons were probably aware of the shard's location, so we were getting there earlier than planned.

Prowl was leading this mission as Prime's SIC. I had to report to him as long as I was with him. And as his first order to me, he made sure that I didn't bring anything related to Spongebob Squarepants on the plane. It made me and Jazz, his sparkmate, laugh for a pretty decent amount of time. The ever stoic SIC looked unamused, but I knew that he was laughing at his sparkmate on the inside, even if just a little bit.

As the plane soared over the state of Colorado, I began to play with Allspark's energy, noting that as we got closer to Nevada, the orbs became brighter and stronger. Allspark, him/herself, noticed this as well, and hovered next to me, not saying anything, only watching in interest as I created several different shapes with his/her power. I was careful not to release them, as they would put a hole in the plane and put everyone on board in jeopardy.

Allspark's ghost sat on my right and surprisingly, in her alt mode, Elita-1 sat on my left. She was quiet as well, but I could tell that she wasn't in recharge. Over time, we had gotten closer and I put the past behind us. If she was willing to, then so was I. Contrary to Mikaela's beliefs, I didn't want to start something that wasn't already there.

Elita had changed her vehicle mode to a Mazda MX-5 Miata, changing it from silver to her signature bright pink coat of paint about a month ago. She was as lost in her thoughts as the rest of us. Well, Jazz and Prowl weren't as lost as we were. In fact, Jazz was trying to show Prowl some unwanted, yet secretly wanted attention. He was trying to push him away, but the smile in his optics gave away that he was actually enjoying it.

Bumblebee rolled up and gently nudged me with his alt. I directed my gaze away from the couple and brought it to the bright yellow vehicle in front of me, smiling lightly. "Hey, Bee. How's it goin'?"

"Everything's fine over here 'lil lady!" he replied, using a southern accent for his response. "And you?"

"'M good… just thinking. A lot," I gave a short laugh and created a bumblebee with the energy of Allspark. The ghost beside me grinned as Bee used a clip on the radio of applause.

"That's me!" he laughed. I grinned and morphed the bee, shaping it into a simple flower. I learned to do this over the course of this extremely long and boring plane ride. Suddenly, I had an idea, an evil smirk forming on my face. To screw with Prowl, I spent some time making Spongebob and walked over to the SIC. I gently tapped his arm and he turned, looked down, and nearly glitched at the sight of the porous sponge that was Spongebob. After releasing an evil laugh and running away from Prowl's wrath, I realized that there was nowhere for me to run or hide, considering we were on a plane. I could always jump off and fly away, but I don't know how to get to Mission City from here, and I would probably end up getting so lost in the freedom of flying that I would lose sight of the plane.

Prowl stomped over to me as Allspark's ghost disappeared and Elita and Bumblebee backed away from the scene. I gulped and tried to smile up at the enraged tactician as he narrowed his optics at me. "What? I thought you liked that show."

* * *

Finally, about two hours after the Spongebob incident, we finally landed at an abandoned airport about half an hour away from the city. Since I was eleven and a half feet tall, I would be unable to ride with any of the 'Bots, so courtesy of Mirage and Wheeljack, I was given the same cloaking device that the former uses for his invisibility so that I could fly without being seen. I thanked both of them for this and promised that I would do them a favour in the future if need be.

As the 'Bots were given a chance to stretch, Prowl gave us instructions for retrieving the shard if it was here and offlining the Decepticons that might have it. "Spade, you will use the cloaking device given to you by Wheeljack—"

"—pray that it doesn't blow up while you're in the air," Jazz cut in. I smirked and pulled the device out of my pocket as Prowl gave his sparkmate an annoyed look.

"You will use the cloaking device and fly over the area in which the Allspark was destroyed. If you see any Decepticons, offline them while in the air. Don't make a scene." I nodded and activated the device.

"Bumblebee and Elita-1, recon the area. If any Decepticons are spotted, deal with them as swiftly as possible. Jazz and I will park by the shopping locations where the Allspark was destroyed and use our holoforms to search for the shard. In approximately two joor (one joor is an hour and a half), we will meet back here."

That was our cue. Unbeknownst to Prowl or the others, I didn't know how to actually get into the air without jumping off of a high point in the air. I asked Allspark to help me out, but the damn ghost refused. When the others took off, I tried to think of a way to get into the sky without harming myself.

Then, I thought back to when I first learned how to fly. I concentrated on Allspark's energy and jumped. Only this time, there was no place for me to jump from. So instead, I just leapt into the air and did the concentration part. To my surprise and utter joy, it worked and I was airborne, once again. As the wind whipped against my face and the hot, Nevada sun harshly sent waves of heat my way, I examined the area below me. The shard was small, too small to see from my altitude. So I lowered myself and decreased my speed, hoping to see a flash of silver. Thanks to the invisibility device, I did this and went unnoticed. An hour later, I got bored from finding nothing. The others reported in and said that it was the same thing for them. No 'Cons and no shard.

There were two possible reasons for this. Either the shard was taken by the Decepticons and they managed to escape with it or the shard was never here to begin with and the 'Cons were there just to be there. Of course, I was leaning more towards the latter, but hoping that it was the former. Otherwise, I would have led us on a wild goose chase.

I stopped flying and landed on the sidewalk gently. It would be hard to walk here, considering that people wouldn't be able to that I was in front of them. With that thought in mind, I focused the alien energy in my body and let my feet hover above the ground. This was the street where Megatron was killed and Allspark's vessel, the Cube itself, was destroyed. When I looked up at a stoplight, I noticed that the latter's ghost was sitting on top of it, examining his surroundings with an innocent curiosity that only the Cybertronians would be able to pull off. I smiled and flew over to the stoplight, looking around to see if the shard was near and that the ghost was there as some sort of hint.

Suddenly, I got a comm from Bumblebee, telling me that there was a Decepticon with the shard. He and his buddy managed to separate Bee from Elita. The 'Con was chasing her as Bee chased the thief. We were told to look out for a speeding garbage truck and a bright red Porsche that had a stunning resemblance to Jazz, only with a different colour. All at once, Jazz, Prowl, and I replied back and let him know that we were on the way. My altitude increased as I searched for bright pink or yellow or four cars driving a lot faster than the surrounding ones.

Eventually, I found them and I was joined by a silver Porsche and a police car in the chase. I got closer to the ground and began to follow Bumblebee. Jazz and I got a comm from Prowl, telling us to go find Elita and the other Decepticon. Since I had invisibility on my side, I would be the one to take him out. Jazz and I broke off from that chase and sped off to find the other 'Con. As I looked around for that bright flash of pink, I was almost hit by a bus that obviously didn't know that I was there.

A barely contained shriek was released, but the other noise of the city muffled it, as the shriek was already quiet to begin with. We finally found her once again, the 'Con hot on her heels. She couldn't transform and fight, as that would blow our cover. It was unnecessary for her to fight when I could handle that, and fortunately she knew this. As I got closer, Jazz activated his holoform and readied a smoke grenade. Yes, a smoke grenade. Thankfully, this road was almost barren, so once he threw it at the approaching red stoplight, there were barely any people to witness the scene. I created a sphere shaped shield and brought it towards me like a fishnet, capturing the Decepticon and fully sealing it. As far as we knew, the Allspark energy shields were indestructible. If it could withstand an explosion, even as it was literally right in front of my face, then it could withstand a few measly hits from a 'Con.

Ignoring the screams and panicked and rushing footsteps of the people below, I soared through the air and above the clouds so that I could offline the struggling 'Con in private. A few minutes later, I landed at our meeting spot and released the Decepticon, only to create orb and send it straight through his chestplates. As I waited for the others to send me a comm or return here, I search the dead Cybertronian's body, searching for the shard. It appeared that if he didn't have it, either his friend had it or one of the 'Bots managed to retrieve it.

Minutes later, I got another comm from Prowl.

::Spade, the Decepticon did not have the shard. I repeat, the Decepticon did not have the shard.::

I frowned and replied back. ::Neither did this one. Dammit… the shard is here somewhere, Prowl. As we got closer to the city, my power got stronger and stronger.::

I created an orb and watched its glow. It was an incredible sight, the way it illuminated the area, its bright blue light hypnotizing me. It almost looked like a spark. The shard was so close, yet so far, as we didn't know exactly where it was. Sighing deeply, I checked the body of the dead Decepticon one last time, finding nothing. Did we really do this for nothing?

No. I still felt stronger than I had in a while. The shard was near, but it would take more time to look for it. Its small size would keep it hidden well enough, but now I was witnessing something strange with the orb that I created. It was beginning to get brighter and brighter.

* * *

In defeat, I reluctantly boarded the plane and stared down at my hands. It didn't make any sense. For the last time, I created an orb to study its strength, noticing that of all things, it was the brightest that it had ever been. I frowned and let it fade away, its energy being released and sent back to me.

The shard… Where the hell is it?

* * *

**And that's the end of the chapter. Once again, thanks for the reviews, follows, and favourites. I'll see you next time.**

**Denali Prime out!**


	3. Allspark on the Moon

**Chapter 3- Allspark on the Moon**

* * *

When we arrived back at the base, I had my head low in defeat. The shard was never found and we traveled across the country for no reason. I went straight to Prime's office where I knew he would be waiting. Gently knocking on the door, I started playing with Allspark's energy again. For some reason, creating random shapes and figures out of the energy of a deadly weapon was entertaining for me.

Seconds later, the door opened, revealing the Prime in all his glory. He gave me a sympathetic smile and stood aside to allow me in. "Spade," he began. "Don't beat yourself up over this. It was worth the shot."

I sat on his desk and let my legs dangle. "I led us on a wild goose chase. I was sure the shard would be there, but I never found it."

Optimus sighed and shut the door quietly. "It was one mistake. Understand that the shard was not the only reason we sent you and the others to Mission City. The Decepticons that were spotted in the area are offline, are they not?"

I nodded moodily and, once again, began to play with Allspark's energy. This was already turning into a habit. If I were to start doing this while in public, things would not go well. My gaze was brought to the tall mech standing in front of me. He gave me a warm smile and tilted his helm to the side.

"You have the moon to look forward to," he offered. I sat up and beamed at him as brightly as the energy shapes I now knew how to create. I hugged myself and began to swing my legs.

"Yay! I'm goin' to the moon! Moon ride! Moon ride! Moon ride!" Optimus chuckled as I chanted this and jumped into his arms. "In case you're wondering, I got that from Spongebob Squarepants."

"Speaking of Spongebob Squarepants, Prowl mentioned that you harassed him with that 'illogical, annoying, yellow, square, slagger.'" The two of us laughed. "Jazz is with him in their quarters, trying to prevent him from glitching."

I laughed even harder at this. "He's so fun to torture. No wonder the Twins like doing it so much."

"They were suspiciously quiet today and yesterday. We, as in the entirety of the base, were wondering if you had anything to do with that."

A tint of light blue dusted my cheeks. "Perhaps…" Optimus arched a metal eyebrow ridge. "Okay, so I threatened them a little bit. I did it for a good cause. You see, Ratchet and Mikaela totally like each other, but like you and me, it's taking them a long time to actually say anything to each other about it."

"I knew you would notice that," he murmured. I gaped.

"Wait, you know too?!"

"Everyone knows except for them. It's actually quite amusing."

"Huh…" I shook my head and created yet another energy shape. This time, it was a heart. "I feel better now. Thanks." He smiled at me again.

"Anything for you, Spade."

* * *

I handed Mikaela a total of two dollars and forty three cents to pay her for the favour. I asked her if she could go to the store and buy some strawberry Creme Savers, the best candy in the entire world. While I wanted nothing more than to relax later on tonight and down the whole bag, these were not for me. And I was going to the Moon today.

Thanking her and giving her the money, I made my way to the office that I was looking for. Activating the holoform that I received only moments ago, I gently knocked the on the door in front of me. And guess who opened it? It was our dearest Charlotte Mearing. And I say that with only a _little _bit of sarcasm.

She gave me her usual annoyed look, the one that's practically plastered on her face 24/7 and said nothing, but allowed me in. I gave her a warm smile, holding the bag of deliciousness behind my back.

"Good morning, Mearing!" I said cheerfully. She arched an eyebrow and grunted.

"Why are you here, Spade?" she asked, sitting behind her desk and placing her hands on top of it.

"I came to make you nicer!" The director gave me a dark look and leaned back in her chair.

"Really?" she drawled. I nodded rapidly and walked closer to her desk, setting the bag of Creme Savers on top of a large stack of mini datapads and papers. Her eyes widened as she hesitantly reached for the bag of candy, staring at it for a while. "Wow… strawberry Creme Savers… I haven't had these in a long time," she breathed. "Are these for me?"

I nodded again and my smile became bigger and brighter. "A little birdy told me that you like Creme Savers. I can't argue with you there. Honestly, I wanted to eat them myself. And the little birdy is your assistant, so you have to be nicer to her now, too. Okay?"

Mearing released an overjoyed, warm, yet short laugh. "Why?"

"Like I said, I wanted to make you nicer. When people are happy, it generally makes them nice, no?" I replied. She smiled at me gratefully, opening the back of strawberry and cream flavoured candy. Grabbing a handful of the small, wrapped candy, she handed some to me. I was taken aback at her offer. "Mearing…"

"Happiness should be shared, no?" she insisted. I accepted the candy, thanked her, and with one final smile, I left the room. My smile widened as I saw her take one of the small pieces of candy and stick it into her mouth, a blissful look on her face as she did. Creme Savers, you are the light of her life. And if I had never met Optimus and music didn't exist, it would be the same for me. But alas, I didn't want to think of such a world.

Chuckling to myself, I made my way back to the quarters I shared with Optimus. When I entered the room, I noticed that he was no longer there. Well, he is an early bird.

::Spade:: He sent me a comm. I answered it quickly.

::I hear you loud and clear.::

::We'll be heading for the _Xantium _in a few kliks. The plane is waiting for us now.::

I tried not to squeal in my excitement. ::Okay. I'll see you there.::

::Affirmative.::

* * *

Several hours later, we arrived at the decommissioned space shuttle that was being used to harbour the _Xantium. _The Wreckers were there, doing some routine maintenance, barking orders or insulting some humans that were working with them. I looked around, searching for Epps. He quit late last year, stating that he was getting tired of being shot at by giant alien robots. I laughed but we were all pretty saddened. Epps was one of our closest friends. Unfortunately, today was his day off, as I had been told.

Upon hearing the harsh comments and insults that the Wreckers threw at the humans, Ratchet and Optimus sighed behind me. "Why are they so mean?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"I believe that it is more of nature's fault." I craned my head to look at Optimus. "I remember meeting them back on Cybertron before the war. Even then, they were…"

"Assholes?" I finished for him. He smiled and nodded.

"I personally wouldn't have phrased it that way, but basically."

Ratchet snorted as I laughed. "Oh, it's the boss," one of them said. His optics darted to me. He tilted his helm, examining my somewhat odd frame. "What's this?"

"Topspin, she is not a 'what.' She's a who. This is my mate, Spade," Optimus scolded. I gave Topspin an annoyed look.

"What he said. Stop looking at me like that."

"This is the Allspark, eh?" another one of them said. He knelt down and gave me a mocking smirk. "So what can you do, fleshy?"

I glared and crossed my arms across my chest. "Kick your ass any day, any time."

"Heh, and I believe it, too. Heard you took on a few 'Cons yourself, lassie. You got spunk. I might have to take you on one day, eh femme?" the green mech asked.

"Roadbuster, if you challenge her, you will die. All it takes is one shot," Ratchet warned. I smirked and walked past the Wreckers.

"If you want me to demonstrate, I will. But don't get mad when there's a hole in your crotch."

Ratchet snickered as he and Optimus began to walk towards the _Xantium_.

* * *

It took all of twenty-five minutes for the three of us to board the Autobot spacecraft. As mechanical beings that didn't require oxygen to breath, preparations for the journey were almost minimal, a lot less than a human taking off in a rocket. Even though the Wreckers bad mouthed the _Xantium _quite a few times as they made sure everything was in check, I could see a small flash of admiration as they did their work. No matter how "crappy the piece-of-shit rocket" was, they still enjoyed doing what they do, considering the mass amounts of time they spent with the spacecraft.

"Ready for launch!" Roadbuster yelled. He jumped down from his location as the humans they worked alongside with scattered to their posts and began the launch sequence. Anticipation bubbled up inside me; this was it. I was actually going to the moon! From a speaker inside the ship, I could hear the humans begin the countdown.

"10…"

A barely contained squeal of excitement escaped me. I tried to make my excitement as unnoticeable as possible.

"9…"

In one day, I'd be on the luminescent rock that I've been staring at ever since I was a child.

"8…"

And as soon as I got there…

"7…"

I would make sure I brought something back.

"6…"

A real moon rock… from the moon!

"5…"

And with each number that the man that I would have to refer to as Houston spoke…

"4…"

I would give anything…

"3…"

For him to speed up the goddamn countdown. Is it just me or is he making it as dramatic as it is in movies when the fate of the world rests on the people in the shuttle?

"2…"

It's just the excitement making it seem that way, isn't it?

"1…"

Damn. Oh well. Houston, we have liftoff.

* * *

It had been twelve hours since we exited the Earth's atmosphere. Thanks to the Cybertronians' advancement in technology, the _Xantium _would arrive on the moon in about twelve more hours. The ship was built specifically for Cybertronians only, so the precautions that would need to be taken in order for a human to be on board weren't required. And that shortened the trip significantly.

When we passed the ISS on the way out of the Earth's atmosphere, I gave it a cheeky grin, knowing that I wasn't visible from my spot inside the _Xantium._ But I wasn't grinning only because of that. In space, there is. No. Gravity. Unless you're a party pooper like Ratchet and you decide to switch on the artificial gravity in your ship to keep cool kids like me from floating around like an idiot. I knew that he would end up doing that, just to gain pleasure from my disappointment, but I said nothing, only writing it down in my head so that I could have my revenge later.

"So this is space, huh?" I asked dreamily. Every kid at one point wishes that they could leave this planet to see what's out there. And most of those kids change their minds later in their lives, dismissing that wish as just that. A wish made by the naive mind of a child, one that is very unlikely to come true. I was one of the ones that kept that wish, locked away in the back of my mind, knowing that the chances for someone like me to get there were slim to none. But here I was, gazing out from the window of an _alien _spacecraft, looking down on Earth from the Moon's perspective as it had done us for thousands and thousands of years. "Eh. Looks pretty much the same as it does from Earth. Maybe I'm just thrilled to be here and that's why I'm so happy."

Optimus chuckled beside me. "I assure you that at one point, the view from here will be much more appealing. The sun's light on one of your planet's rivers is quite… breathtaking."

I gave him a bright grin in response. Then, I leaned over and kissed his chestplates right above his spark, silently and intimately thanking him for letting me go on this trip. "I'll keep that in mind on the way back," I whispered.

Later, I fell into recharge at Ratchet's command. He knew that it had been at least a week and a half since I had gotten a full night's rest. Not wanting to feel his wrath, I stubbornly gave in and dreamt about going even further than our moon, going to the edge of the galaxy with Optimus and the other Autobots, doing things that no human will be able to achieve for a long time. When I woke up, I felt the pain in my face, as I had been sleeping with a blissful smile plastered on it for the past twelve hours. Waking up on the Moon made it feel as if that dream actually happened.

"Spade," a deep baritone murmured. I looked at the source of the voice and gave a sleepy grin. He smiled back and took my hand. "Welcome to the Moon."

Optimus and Ratchet got off of the _Xantium _first, but I remained on one of the steps, taking in the view. It was dark on this side of the moon, as it was full from my point of view on Earth at this time. But beyond this location, in the distance, millions, or perhaps billions of white, blue, and red dots speckled the blackness that was outer space. I knew from taking astronomy in school that some of those specks were actually galaxies. It was hard to believe that so many people on Earth don't believe in aliens. All of these stars and galaxies should guarantee extraterrestrial life. If they are similar to the human race in any way, then there has to be another species besides ours and the Cybertronians. Why people are so close-minded, I would never understand.

Looking down at my feet, another grin broke out on my face. Then, jumping off of the stairs the same way Neil Armstrong did, I planted my feet on the Moon and said proudly, "One small step for Spade… one giant leap for Spade's ego."

Ratchet rolled his optics as Optimus chuckled. "Let's find the _Ark,_" the former said. Taking steps that you can only take on the Moon, the three of us went further and further away from _Xantium _and closer to the _Ark. _Finding a giant crashed alien spaceship on a place as desolate as the Moon was as easy as I thought it would be.

Once boarding the ship, we looked around and searched for what I presume was the crash vault. Based on the conversation that we had with Buzz Aldrin the other day, Sentinel was probably located there, along with that technology that Optimus mentioned. There was a pained look in the two's optics as they surveyed the damage. There were several offlined Autobots onboard the ship and it must have torn at their sparks.

And even though we weren't bonded, Optimus' pain was mine.

It was ten minutes after we entered the ship, that we found the crash vault. With his laser, Ratchet created a hole in the vault door, being that the ship had to be functioning for the door to be opened. And as long as the ship had been dormant on the Moon, it had to be completely out of fuel to power anything inside it or use any of its functions. Once the hole was created, we all entered the vault where Sentinel lay and five strange objects surrounded his body.

I gazed at Optimus and saw his deep frown. "His levels are faint," Ratchet muttered. He picked up one of the strange items as it floated in his direction. "He locked himself away to guard the pillars."

Optimus knelt down and gently picked up his sire's body, a barely noticeable sadness present in his sapphire optics. "Sire, you're coming home."

* * *

As Optimus carried the body and Ratchet carried the pillars, I walked behind them and looked around for a chunk of loose moon rock. I wasn't kidding when I said that I was going to bring something back. And then, I spotted it. A large piece of moon rock, sitting about five feet away from the ship, mocked me in all its radiance, the Sun's light giving it its white glow. Smirking, I silently crept to the rock and picked it up, noting its size. It was about as a big as a pillow, rather small for someone my height, but I still managed to compare the size of things as a five foot seven human. The human that I used to be.

Making sure Optimus and Ratchet wouldn't notice the Great Moon Rock Theft, I snatched it up and shoved in it my large pocket, grinning to myself. Yet another great leap for Spade's ego, I thought to myself.

And with that, I boarded the ship and settled down for the launch. And after those ten seconds, we were off. I sadly looked down at the Moon as we got further and further away from it. But some of the sadness was washed away as I recalled the large piece of the light-stealing celestial orb that was our Moon. I'm sure it wouldn't miss this tiny piece in comparison to its entire size.

The ride back was fairly quiet, the only sounds being the occasional beep from the machines and technology of the ship with names that I would never be able to pronounce, and the sounds of minimal chatter from the people back on Earth. Several hours later, Optimus gently nudged me as we got closer to Earth. Nodding his helm in the direction of our little blue planet, I gazed out the window and faced a breathtaking sight.

The sun was just beginning to rise on the Western Hemisphere. The rays of the bright star were reflecting off of a river somewhere in India—I believe it's the Ganges. Bright light was illuminating it in a way that almost seemed unreal.

"Huh," I said, astonishment lacing my voice. "You were right. The people in ISS—this is the view they get every day? Damn. Lucky bastards. The sun on the Ganges—it's… amazing."

* * *

**Yay! Spade has a moon rock! And she got to go to the Moon! You're welcome, by the way.**

**Spade: Thanks, Carrier! *grins***

**Me: I'll see you in the next chapter!**

**Denali Prime out!**


	4. Attack of the Living Prime

**Chapter 4- Attack of the Living Prime**

**Welcome back! Here's the next chapter. Forgive me for any mistakes that you may notice.**

* * *

When we arrived back at the base, it was pretty late, almost one in the morning. Optimus gently carried Sentinel Prime to the medbay so that Ratchet could work his magic and make sure his systems were in good condition before he was revived.

While Optimus wanted to revive him, he was still contemplating whether he should or not. As his sire and mentor, Sentinel was hard on him when he was a child. He tried his hardest to be like him, but it always seemed as if he favoured Megatron. I was shocked to hear this, considering how terrible Megatron is now. Is that what Sentinel wanted? Someone that didn't show the compassion and mercy that Optimus did? Someone that wouldn't think twice before killing someone? Someone without a soul? Optimus must be more like his carrier. Who he or she was, I didn't know, but I made a mental note to ask later. In addition to that, he also mentioned that it was possible that Sentinel was at peace in the Well. He didn't want to take that away from him, considering how long he'd fought in the war.

As Optimus delivered the body, I snuck back to my office and quickly entered the code. Once I entered, I took the large moon rock that was stored in my pocket and put it inside one of the desk drawers. I didn't want anybody to try and take it. Smiling in satisfaction, I left my office and nearly ran right into Optimus. Grasping my chest, I panted, as that had scared the shit out of me.

"Primus almighty, where did you come from?" I breathed. Optimus chuckled and gently stroked my face.

"Placing Sentinel in the medbay while you were hiding your moon rock," he replied. I gaped at him quickly tried to cover it up, but he noticed anyway.

"How did you know?" I asked, giving him a sheepish smile.

"The rock was quite large. It was pretty hard to miss."

"Damn," I said simply. Taking his other hand in mine, I sighed. "Well, I'm not tired, so I was gonna go patrol or something. Care to join me?"

He smiled. "Of course." With that, I took his hand and dragged him through the halls of the base. Most of the lights were out, so it was pretty dark, a few parts of the floor glowing from the light of the moon. I thought about the fact that I now have a piece of it and grinned. The two of us walked in still, comfortable silence. Suddenly, Optimus got a message from Ratchet. Strangely, it wasn't a private comm, so he must've known that I was with him and the message was meant for both of us.

"Prime! Spade! Sentinel is gone!" My eyes widened and Optimus frowned.

"Gone? What the hell? He was in stasis when we found him," I replied.

"I don't understand it either, but he's not here anymore. He probably ran off because he didn't recognize his surroundings."

"Where were you when this happened?" Optimus asked, strangely calm.

"In the energon storage room to get some cubes for Sentinel. As low as his energon levels were, he shouldn't have been able to leave at all, excluding the fact that he was fragging offline!"

"We'll find him. Prime out."

Optimus and I shared a look before we both looked around, searching for the missing Prime. The darkness made it hard to see, so I created an orb and used its bright blue glow as a light source. And the next thing I knew, I heard a strangled yell from a familiar baritone voice and a hoarse battle cry from an unknown voice behind me. Whipping around, I saw that somemech was on top of another mech. And Optimus was the one on the bottom. Growling, I moved forward to attack, but as the light from Optimus and my orb combined, the face of the attacker was illuminated. Sentinel was glaring at Optimus with a wild look in his optics, a sharp weapon at his son's neck cables. At the same time, he seemed pretty dazed, as if he didn't recognize him, so the younger Prime tried to reach out to him.

"Stop! Sire!" he ground out. "It is I, Optimus Prime!" Sentinel's optics widened before he finally stopped and removed the weapon.

"Optimus?" he asked. His voice had the age and wisdom of a Prime contained within it, years of war and life in general, compacted into one word. It was an interesting and calming combination. After hearing the ruckus in the main room of the base, several Autobots and NEST soldiers came running to the scene, weapons out and loaded, regardless of the sleepy looks on all of their faces. Everyone was shocked at the position that Optimus and Sentinel were in, so I explained what was happening.

"Hey guys," I said cheerfully. They looked at me. "So, yeah. In case you were wondering, this is Sentinel. It's a very long story."

Sentinel gazed at me at hearing his name before glancing around at all of the humans and Autobots surrounding him. He studied the humans closely before looking at me oddly. "What are they?" he asked. I released an amused sigh.

"They are humans, the dominant species of this planet. We are taking refuge here, fighting alongside them against the Decepticons," Optimus replied gravely. "As long as we're here, you should connect to the humans' Internet. It will make it easier for you to understand their various customs." The older mech nodded and appeared to do just that. He, upon noticing that he was still on top of his son, stood up and offered his servo. Optimus accepted it and rose to his full height.

"My apologies, Optimus," he said. The younger Prime shook his helm dismissively. "And of the war? What about Cybertron?"

"The war and Cybertron were both lost." Sentinel looked crushed at that. I sighed sadly as Optimus formally introduced him to everyone. The older mech brought his gaze to me again, eyeing me in that same strange way. I felt the tingle of scans running across my body and shifted uncomfortably.

"The Allspark?" he breathed. "In a human?"

"Technically yes, but as Allspark and I merge, the former will no longer be… a lone… thing. I'm not quite sure how to phrase it, but basically, I have Allspark's power because I'm the vessel of Allspark itself. That's why I don't really look like any of them," I said, gesturing to the NEST soldiers.

"Her body is undergoing Cyberformation. In a few months, she will be a Cybertronian," Optimus finished for me. "She's been a big help in the war."

"Yeah. I'm Spade, by the way. I'm your son's…" Optimus winced, but willed me to continue. "I'm his…" I faltered again. "Okay… I am your son's girlfriend," I said carefully. Sentinel's optics dimmed for a second as he researched the term 'girlfriend' before they widened.

"_What?!"_

"Okay. That's enough with the introductions, so you should all leave right now," I said quickly. This was the conversation that I was never looking forward to having and it seemed as if Optimus felt the same way. He warned me ahead of time that Sentinel might not respond positively to hearing about our relationship, due to the fact that I'm still human in some ways.

Optimus walked over to me as we watched the others return back to their quarters, albeit hesitantly. The older Prime began to pace as he scowled at the two of us, muttering some incoherent things under his breath. "I had, what humans call, a dream about this once. It looked exactly like this," Optimus murmured. "We just told him that we were mates, my soldiers and the NEST soldiers were all gathered in this room."

I gazed up at him. "And?"

"It didn't end well."

"What the frag are you talking about, Optimus?!" Sentinel snarled. I flinched and clutched onto him. I was afraid that Sentinel would end up attacking one of us if he got any angrier. Sure, I could hold him off myself, but I didn't want to. "Why are you with her, a human? An entirely different species? Elita-1 is your sparkmate and it appears that contrary to what we all believed, she is alive and well!"

"Sire," Optimus ground out harshly. "Elita _was _my sparkmate. The bond was severed when I thought that she had been killed. It doesn't matter that Spade is human, not to me."

The older Prime snorted. "At least she's turning Cybertronian." I pursed my lips. Truth be told, I was a little offended by his comments, even though we saw this coming. Hell, Optimus even had a dream about it.

When I glanced up at Optimus, I saw that he was glaring at his sire. "I fell in love with her when she was human." A smile spread across my face. "I am no longer a sparkling, Sentinel. I am a grown mech, one of the bearers of the Matrix, a Prime, a leader. As of late, you no longer have control over who I choose to be with. I know that as the former leader of the Autobots, you have the right to lead us again. But as the current leader of the Autobots, I have the right to decide whether I want to give you the power and the Matrix again." His optics darkened and his voice dropped almost an octave. "Spade is _mine_. And there is _nothing _you can do to change that."

_Whoa_. That was intense. Sentinel smirked remained quiet for a few seconds before he spoke, "I'm impressed, Optimus. Before, when I told you that you couldn't have something, you said nothing." The gray mech looked at me. "You must be something special, youngling. My son fights for you. I trust that you will do the same."

Nodding at him curtly, I said, "I could have fought for him before, but I didn't because I didn't know that I had the ability to do so. It cost him his life. But now, I know that I can. And I have sworn that I would do anything in my power to make sure what happened two years ago never happened again. Optimus is mine as I am his."

He stared at me for a good minute before his smirk disappeared, but it remained in his optics. As he turned around and began to walk away, he said one last thing. "She is a keeper, Optimus. I expect to see some sparklings as soon as her Cyberformation is complete."

The two of had a light shade of blue dusting our cheeks. Did I want to have kids? Oh, yes; at least two. Before the older Prime fully disappeared from my sight, I called out to him. "You should go to the medbay! Ratchet's already pretty mad at you for leaving. Prime or not, he _will_ put a dent in your helm!"

He turned, nodded, and was on his way. I clicked my tongue and stood in front of Optimus. "So, how did that dream of yours end?"

"I woke up before I got a chance to finish it." He smiled and lifted me into his arms bridal style, drawing a startled squeak from me. "I must admit; that went better than expected."

"Yeah. Let's celebrate with a nap. I'm suddenly tired again. Primus knows that Mearing is gonna harass the two of you in the morning."

"She might not. Director Mearing was in a pleasant mood when we left the base on Wednesday. Many of the humans and mechs on base have reported that she has been this way all since then."

"Still? Huh. I guess strawberry Creme Savers will do that to a person," I grinned as I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head against his chestplates. "Hey," I murmured. "I love you. Thank you for what you said back there."

"Anything for the femme that I love." Releasing a content smile, I closed my eyes as Optimus carried me back to our quarters.

* * *

As predicted, Mearing bombarded Optimus, Sentinel, and I with several questions the next morning about his mysterious appearance. I made sure to get up bright and early to see if Mearing was still in the good mood that she was dragged into by the heavenly, Primus-sent taste of a strawberry Creme Saver. And when I dropped by her office, there was a shine in her eyes and candy wrappers littering her normally pristine office, the smell of cream and strawberries still lingering in the air. The bag was in the trash can, but on top of her desk was another one that had yet to be opened. And on the bag was a note that said, 'These are a gift from me. Anything to make you nicer.' My name was signed at the bottom, even though I had nothing to do with the second bag.

I shrugged my shoulders and grinned at the bright smile that Mearing gave me this morning, even as she dragged me to the official meeting room of the NEST base. Optimus, Sentinel, Ratchet, Ironhide, Prowl, Jazz, and Lennox were already present, and the two of us were the last to arrive. Taking my seat next to Optimus, I listened to the meeting with newfound boredom and suddenly, my hands were much more interesting. Then I thought about the new ability that I possessed. Energy shapes, you are my new source of entertainment.

The first thing that popped into mind was a Creme Saver and I immediately wished that I had a bag of my own. The energy Creme Saver was quite detailed; a lighter shade of blue used to represent the white swirls on the piece of candy, a darker shade representing the red. The others were so engrossed in their meeting that they failed to notice the hovering piece of energy shaped like a candy that I'm sure at least two people in the room were craving.

When my thoughts drifted to my favoured, dearest mech, a flame popped into my head. Ever so carefully, I changed the shape of the energy, morphing it from a circular disk to a clip art version of a flame. Bringing my eyes off of my entertainment, I glanced around the room to see that only Ratchet noticed that I was goofing off, screwing with a great deal of power in the midst of a meeting that wasn't as important to me as it probably should have been. The anger in his optics fueled my imagination, so I created a wrench. The medic sighed and shook his helm in amusement, drawing his attention back to Mearing.

::Pay attention, Spade.:: I jumped at the private comm link that I received from him. ::Imagine how you'll look when Mearing asks you a question and we all look at you to see you slagging around with some of the most powerful energy in this galaxy.::

I pouted and just to mock him and further amuse me, I created Mikaela. Where the idea came from, I have absolutely no idea. How I managed to create something as detailed and difficult as the face of another human being, I will never know. I didn't expect Ratchet, the wrench-wielder, to become so easily flustered by the image of Mikaela. Ratchet's optics widened and I bit back a laugh, turning the girl into an innocent tree. The medic appeared to be flustered, so I smirked at him and let the energy be released into the air, only for it to return to me. As I waited for another idea to pop into my head for more creations, I actually began to listen to the conversation.

"… and you will have an alt mode to suit your frame soon. As for how you were revived… do you have any idea?" Mearing asked Sentinel with a surprisingly gentle-ish voice.

The older Prime shook his helm. "The last thing I remember seeing was your planet's moon, right before the ship crashed into its surface. After the attacks made by the Decepticons, I locked myself inside the crash vault to protect the—" He cut himself off before anger and worry was registered in his optics. Slamming his hand down on the large table, he panicked and said, "The pillars! Where are the pillars?"

"You saved five of them, including the control pillar," Optimus replied.

"Only five? We once had hundreds!" The Prime's sire raised his voice only a little, but I believe that I would have had the same reaction. To go from a few hundred to five pillars was an astounding decrease, and with the amount of power they had, his reaction was quite justified. "What happened to the other pillars?"

"We are unsure of their whereabouts, but it is possible that the Decepticons have already taken them."

"Excuse me, gentlemen. May I ask… what is this technology you're looking for?" Mearing asked. She looked as if she already knew.

"It is the ability to reshape the universe. Together the pillars form a Space Bridge. I designed, and I alone, can control it. It defies your laws of physics to transport matter through time and space," Sentinel replied. I frowned and looked at him.

"What, like teleportation?" Taking another glance at the Director, I saw the old Mearing was back. Mentally, I sighed. It was going so well, her Creme Saver induced happiness.

"Yes… for resources, for refugees." Optimus, upon noticing the look, accented its uses.

"Refugees, or troops of soldiers, weapons, maybe bombs! A means of an instant strike! That's its military function, isn't it?" she retorted.

"Dammit," I said, rubbing my eyes. "I somehow knew that that wasn't going to last for very long."

"It is our technology and it must be returned," Sentinel drawled gravely.

"Yes. If humans say so! You can't just bring weapons of mass destruction into our atmosphere! Kind of have to clear customs first. A little formality called paperwork, kind of separates us from the animals," she replied harshly. I looked around confusedly.

"Wait, did she just—did she just call you guys animals? Or was she just referring to animals?" I asked. "Because if she did, then I think the Creme Saver effect has just worn off."

"I mean, I think that's what happened," Lennox muttered. He was standing on top of the Cybertronian sized table in front of me quietly. "But I don't know. Can't say for sure."

"I will overlook your condescending tone if you heed the gravity of mine. The Decepticons must never know the Space Bridge is here. For in their hands, it would mean the end of your world."

But didn't you just say that only _you _can control—? Okay, I give up. My brain is too young to understand… science. And Cybertronian science no less. This was the type of shit you heard about in a comic book or a Marvel movie. I mean, they broke one of the laws of physics! _Physics_! I sighed; I have a headache now.

* * *

When the meeting was over, I went back to my office. Leaning back in the chair, I propped my feet up on the desk and thought about said meeting. At first, things were going pretty good. Actually, I don't think that I can say that, considering that we were in there for a solid hour and I was goofing off during 56 minutes of said hour. But the yelling match never caught my attention, leading me to believe that there was no yelling match until the end and all was somewhat well. Normally there's at least one in our meetings.

Then everything went to Hell when the pillars were mentioned. Honestly, Sentinel had every right to go in that stupid vault himself and just take them, but I'm sure that Mearing has a good reason for—

Oh, what the hell am I saying?! How dare they take his technology and refuse to give it back to him? She even classified the situation as one that belongs in her "Total Nightmare" folder.

Because of this, I have deduced that the effect of Creme Savers is like a really shitty pill. When people take medicine, eventually their bodies will get used to it and it will no longer have an effect. And when people eat an entire bag of Creme Savers to make themselves nicer, it's the same thing.

A short buzz from my phone dragged me out of my thoughts. The phone was my old one, or at least the one that Optimus gave me in case I got into trouble with a Decepticon while I was still human. Activating my holoform, I picked up the phone and read the text message. It was from Lennox. Apparently, Sam and his new girlfriend were outside and the former was harassing the soldiers that were by the gate.

I sighed and texted him back, letting him know that sending Bumblebee out there was probably his best option. Sam would never show up here unless shit got real on his end, and I've yet to meet this new girlfriend of his. And here lies a secret that only he and I know.

This girlfriend was—in counting—the thirty-third girlfriend he's had since breaking up with Mikaela. So that means that he has had thirty-two different girlfriends over the course of one and a half years, plus the new one that I've yet to meet. Now, I know what you're thinking. Something along the lines of "Sam, would you just stick with one girl?" or "You dirty man-whore!" or "Why do you have to be such a pimp, Sam?"

But it isn't entirely his fault that it has gone down that way. Sam has the unique ability to choose a girlfriend that is in no way right for him whatsoever. Of his thirty-two ex-girlfriends, four of them were hookers, six were gold-diggers, twelve were criminals, three were _ex_-criminals, two were transvestites, another three were married, and the last two were twice his age. Upon discovering that his first girlfriend was part of the latter category, and his second and third were part of the third and fourth category, I had to tell him that he was no longer allowed to date anyone without my approval. From there, I visited him once he told me that he had a new girlfriend. After the first three, none of the others lasted for more than two days because after hearing their names and learning their faces, I did a full background check to see what Sam was getting into.

When I found out that he was dating someone that was not right for him in more than one way, I went into something that I like to call over-protective-sister-with-the-ability-to-kill-you-silently mode. Basically, I went to their homes and threatened them in a way that would make a Decepticon and an Ironhide proud. Either Sam broke up with them or he got a frantic call from the girl telling him that: because of the crazy bitch that he happens to be related to, this relationship will not work.

All in all, the fact that it's been thirty-two different girls is mostly my fault. The rest of the credit goes to him for choosing shitty girlfriends in the first place. Surprisingly, he was totally okay with my doing this because his second girlfriend tried to steal his wallet and he woke up with the sixth one on top of him one night, knife in one hand and a needle with a suspicious substance in the other.

I didn't know anything about this girlfriend, only because I haven't had the time to meet her, what with all the Autobot stuff (jumping off of buildings to see if I can fly does not apply). And since the thirty-second girl, I've given him a maximum limit of two days to be with her before I gave her an evaluation. He thought that that was outrageous, but the amount of girlfriends he's had in a two and a half year timespan was _beyond_ outrageous. He had no right to judge me for doing this.

I stood up and made my way to the entrance of the base, grinning as I heard Sam's constant bitching about his terrible day. He was led by several soldiers, including Lennox, into the main room of the base. Beside him was a tall, gorgeous blonde with an amazing figure, fair skin, and a damn good job. I didn't want her to see my real form just yet, so I activated my holoform and projected it a few feet away from them, hiding my bipedal in a nearby dark corner.

When she and I made eye contact, she smiled warmly and nudged Sam. His bitch fest was interrupted as he grinned at me before giving the soldiers that he didn't know a stupid smug look. I rolled my eyes as his attention was brought back to me. Grasping his girlfriend's arm, he walked her over to me and said, "Angel, this is my sister, Spade. Spade this is Carly."

"I'd like to start by saying: whatever drugs you're on, Samuel, get rid of them now because there's a Ratchet on base." I paused. "And give me some of it. And Carly… sorry we had to meet this way. He's an idiot. Two days is enough to notice that."

Her smile faltered a bit as she looked at Sam, then back at me. "Um… two days? We—" I nearly gasped at her thick British accent, but tried to keep a somewhat stern look about me.

"So Spade, how have things been going with Optimus? You guys good? What about Ratchet and Mikaela? How 'bout this weather, huh? You know, I like what you guys have done with the place," Sam interrupted her quickly, looking anywhere but at me. I narrowed my eyes and placed my hands on my hips.

"Samuel…" I said dangerously.

"We've never met before, but I've seen your picture. He has one of you and the Autobots at home," she smiled. Sam facepalmed and tried to walk off, but I held him down with two energy beams over his feet. These were not deadly, but they were still part of Allspark's kickass power. And I am proud to say that I did not learn how to do this by accident.

"A picture of me and the Autobots… at home… even though we've never met before… Home as in… _home_?" I glared at my brother. "So that means either he was dumb enough to move in with someone after two days… or… you've been together for _more _than two days."

The Brit looked confused before nodding slowly. "He hasn't told you?"

I remained silent before forcing a smile. "I'm going to talk to Sam in private. Stay right there; this won't take too long. But it may be the last time you ever speak to him again because I might kill him."

Removing the energy cuffs from his feet, I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him up before taking him back to my office, my regular body in tow. I could feel Carly's shocked gaze on my back and ignored it. After inputting the code, I walked in and didn't speak until the door was closed and locked. "We had a deal!" I yelled. Sam flinched and tried to get out of my grasp.

"Listen, listen, listen. I know we had a deal, but the thing is Carly is different from all those other girls!" he responded hastily.

"What the fuck do you know?! She could be a serial killer or a man in disguise or another pretender, for fuck's sake! The purpose of you telling me about each new girlfriend you got is for your safety because you always end up choosing shitty girlfriends!"

"I know that! But—"

"Tell me something Sam. How long have you two been together?" I fumed. His gaze traveled to the ground. I shook him roughly, prompting him to speak.

"Six months."

My anger skyrocketed. _"Six months?!"_ I screeched. "Are you kidding me?!"

"There's a reason I didn't tell you!"

"It better be a damn good one!"

"Dammit, it's b-because of this! Look at the situation! I didn't want this! I never told you because I was afraid that you might find something about her that neither of us would like." I remained silent, so he continued. "I love her."

"Sam…"

"Please, Spade. Her name is Carly Brooks-Spencer if you're still going to do a background check, but please. Don't ruin this for me unless you're absolutely sure that she isn't right for me."

I sighed and gave him a serious look. "Fine. But, you'll leave if I find something bad, right?"

He nodded and held out his pinky. I smiled lightly at the childish gesture. It had been a while since I last made a pinky promise with him. Linking my smallest digit with his, we made an unspoken agreement and left the room. Sam returned to Carly, who gazed at the two of us worriedly. Smiling lightly, I gestured for the two to follow me before Mearing showed up and ruined the fun. I knew that Sam missed the Autobots, being that it had been almost a year since he last saw one, besides Wheelie and Brains. And if Mearing saw him before he got a chance to see them, it would sadden him for a while.

With that in mind, I began to increase my walking speed, Sam and Carly right behind me. On the way, we saw several 'Bots, including Mirage, Prowl, Jazz, and the younger Twins. All of them gave Sam a warm welcome, as they were fully aware of what he had done four years ago to save his world and their Prime. Well, the younger Twins gave a somewhat warm welcome. It was more like a lame greeting with some rude hooting and whistling at his girlfriend. I gave them a glare that promised pain in their future if they didn't clean up their act, and they shut up immediately, going back to their previous activities.

Optimus, Sentinel, Ironhide, and the Arcee triplets were in the rec room, much to my shock. Chromia was sitting on a Cybertronian sized couch next to her sparkmate. Bumblebee was sitting on a loveseat next to Arcee. This was, yet another pairing that we've been trying to set up for a while now. It was obvious that the two were interested in each other. Glancing at Optimus, he looked down at me and gave me a smile.

"Spade," he said in greeting. I grinned up at him and let my holoform disappear as my bipedal walked into the rec room. I gave him a kiss on his chestplates, then created a flat energy shield and gestured for my adoptive brother and his girlfriend to step onto it. Carly still seemed awed at my power, but she was, apparently, fully aware of it before I got to tell her myself. When the two stepped on, I lifted the shield up to Optimus and Sentinel so they could see each other, eye to optic.

"Samuel, it is great to see you. It certainly has been a while," the younger Prime rumbled. His optics went to Carly and he gave her a polite smiled and nodded in her direction. "And this is your new mate?" he asked. Carly was in shock, perhaps at his size, gentleness, deep baritone, or all of the above.

"Yep. Yeah, it's good to see you too, Prime. And this is Carly. Carly, Optimus Prime," he introduced the two. She smiled at him and waved.

"It's an honour," she said.

"This is my sire, Sentinel Prime," Optimus replied. Sam gaped and gave him a respectful nod.

"Is he the one that killed Megatron?" Sentinel asked as Sam paled and looked down at me.

"I just forgot that Megatron is his son," he whispered. I snickered and waved him off.

"You're on your own, Sammy," I replied. He glared and took some lint out of his pocket, hurling it at me lamely.

"You helped!"

"Shut up, no I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Shut up, stupid!"

"And you tried to blow him up!"

"You see the shield you're standing on? You see it? I brought it into this world and I can take it out if you don't shut up!" I snapped my fingers. "Just like that!"

"You wouldn't!"

"You aren't doing _me_ a favour!"

"Calm down, younglings. I feel no ill will towards you. While Megatron is indeed, my oldest creation, he turned his back on his planet and his family. You did what was best for everyone," Sentinel said nobly. It was apparent that that was why Optimus was so noble.

The color came back to Sam's face as Optimus chuckled lightly. "Hey, Optimus?" I called up to him. The mech in question gazed at me. "Do you know where Ratchet and Mikaela are?"

"I believe they are in the medbay."

"Thank you! We'll be back in a minute!" Lowering the shield, I let the couple step off before making my way to the medbay. Knocking on the door gently, I took a few steps back. The door opened, revealing Ratchet. He appeared to be… flustered? He looked down at the three of us and gave us a breathy greeting.

"Ah, Samuel. It's good to see you again," he panted. I arched an eyebrow.

"Mind if we come in?" I asked carefully. He contemplated this before allowing us in.

"And this is your new mate?" he asked.

"Yep. Carly, this is Ratchet, the wrench-wielder. Sometimes we call him Hatchet," Sam grinned. I smirked as the medic growled lowly. "Hatchet, this is Carly."

"Do not call me that, youngling!"

At hearing Sam's voice, a brunette head was looming over us from its place atop one of the medical berths. Mikaela looked down and gave us a small smile, and I noticed her expression as well. The young woman's hair was disheveled, her cheeks slightly flushed and bruised lips panting almost imperceptibly. Wait, bruised lips? Panting? Flushed cheeks? Holy shit.

"What the hell were you two doing?"

* * *

**And there's yet another long chapter. Leave a review and tell me what you thought. I'll see you next Wednesday. Later!**

**Denali Prime out!**


	5. The EPT

**Chapter 5- The EPT**

**Let's get a recap on the pairings:**

**Spade/Optimus**

**Ironhide/Chromia**

**Jazz/Prowl**

**Sam/Carly**

**Ratchet/Mikaela **

**Jolt/Flareup**

**(Future) Arcee/Bumblebee**

**There will be some new ones in the future. And I've probably forgotten some, but oh well. Enjoy.**

* * *

Mikaela and Ratchet appeared flustered when I took a really good look at them. It was now clear, their previous activities, and we obviously interrupted something private between the two. Since I, along with the others on base, thought that it was time the two said something to change the status of their relationship to something a little more intimate, I wanted to make this as quick as possible. Glancing down at the two humans at my feet, I gave them both a look. Sam smirked and Carly only nodded, as she wasn't very familiar with the relationships on base.

"Well, um… this is awkward," I said, a smirk of my own plastered on my face. "I guess we'll leave you two to your… activities." Mikaela smiled at me sarcastically before looking at the blonde standing next to her friend. "Oh, this is Carly, Sam's new girlfriend."

"Hi, I'm Mikaela," she said sweetly. "Make sure you take care of Sam, okay? He's not my boyfriend anymore, but I still love him like a brother."

Carly introduced herself and said that she would take care of Sam, as asked. I silently approved of this notion, but made sure to make a note to do a background check on her later on. For all I know, she's really just a damn fine actor looking to kill Sam later and take all the money that he doesn't even have before running off.

"Well, we should go. Ratchet looks anxious," I grinned evilly at the medic before gasping and ducking down to miss the wrench headed for my head. It missed by just a few inches, making my spark race. Scooping up the couple, I shut the medbay door and brought the two back to the rec room. A few 'Bots present looked at us weirdly.

"You okay, Spade? You seem a little startled," Arcee asked gently. I put Sam and Carly down on the floor and shook my head dismissively.

"It's nothing. Just… almost got hit with a wrench," I replied. The 'Bots nodded in understanding, but they still wanted to know what else I saw.

"Are you sure that's all?" the pink femme asked.

"Yeah."

She narrowed her optics suspiciously and crossed her thin arms across her chestplates. "What went on that room?"

I cringed and before I got to answer, Sam said, "We caught Ratchet and Mikaela about to the do the dirty in the medbay," he snickered. I facepalmed as the others began to laugh, gasp, or choke on their energon.

"I think that you could have worded that a lot differently, Sam," I muttered.

"Well, 'bout damn time," Jazz laughed, holding his cube of energon off to the side. "Those two've been tiptoein' around each other for months now!"

"I was almost willing to lock them in a room until they confessed!" Ironhide said. We laughed even harder at this.

"That's what you said about Prime and Spade," Chromia said. I stopped laughing abruptly and glared at the weapons specialist. But of course, everyone kept guffawing at the situation.

"We were not as bad as those two!" I exclaimed.

"Like Pit, you weren't!"

"It was different!"

"How?!"

"He had a sparkmate! Sorta!"

The laughter continued and eventually, I gave in. But that was when Mearing arrived with her assistant in tow. She gave Carly one good look before the fun stopped abruptly.

"What is this, like a date?" she asked rudely.

"Oh, shit," I murmured. A few others nodded and grunted in agreement. Sam looked up at me hopefully.

"You wanna help me out here?" he asked.

"Sorry, Sammy. You're on your own. Mearing won't listen to me," I said regretfully.

"You two, in my office. Now."

Sam sighed and took his girlfriend by the hand, dragging her out of the rec room. He gave everyone one last goodbye before they left. Bee warbled sadly and was tempted to follow them, but he knew that there would be no point in doing so. Mearing would only send him back.

"Well… there goes our fun. I think we all saw that coming, though." The 'Bots hummed in agreement before starting up another conversation. This was nice, however. Almost everyone was present in the rec room. It was strange, being that there were a lot of duties on base, but now, everyone was pretty chill. We laughed, talked, facepalmed, laughed some more, just spending time with each other as an Autobot/NEST family. Lennox sat next to Ironhide, though it looked strange without Epps being right there with him. I was sitting in Prime's lap, drinking a cup of low grade energon. I couldn't help but feel sad for Sam, as I know that he wanted to stay with us and enjoy these festivities, but Mearing, being the security freak that she is, would never allow it. In fact, she came back to the rec room and told Bumblebee that he would have to escort him and his girlfriend back to their home and stay with them for a while because of the Decepticon that attacked him.

But as we had our fun, I happened to notice Richard Gould, the maintenance guy, stalking through the halls of the base. Arching an eyebrow, I tried not think too much about it and focused on the group.

* * *

The next day was clear and mild. Sentinel used his time to find a suitable alt mode and talked to Optimus in private for a few hours. His alt mode is a red Rosenbauer airport fire truck, suited to fit his size. Even after his rant, however, his pillars were still locked in the vault. And even after he said that he accepted me as his son's girlfriend, he still gave me strange looks, as if mentally saying that he didn't agree. Shrugging off the feeling, I sat patiently and waited for Optimus. He told me to meet him outside of the base, but he didn't say why.

And moments later, said mech arrived, fully suited in his flight tech. From convincing arguments from both Ratchet and me, he kept Jetfire's parts from Egypt. Now, he used them on missions when the need to fly was great. I stood up and gave him a small smile, hoping that he was using it for what I _thought _he was using it for. "Optimus?" I asked softly.

He smiled warmly and the next thing I knew, I was in his arms. "You said you wanted to go flying, did you not?"

I grinned as he took off, shooting into the air. The sky was cloudless this evening, and the sun was already almost gone. The moon, in all its radiance and stolen beauty, took over the skies, tiny dots littering the dark blue, almost black surface. As the wind whipped against my face, I looked up at Optimus and saw him looking back lovingly. I caressed his face and gave his nose a gentle kiss before letting go of him. He called out as I concentrated on Allspark's energy, and I began to fly on my own beneath him, grinning at the blue and red mech.

Of course, I felt a little guilty, as he looked as if he was going to have a spark attack any second now. But that fear turned to shock. "This was why I wanted go flying. Now, I—we can fly."

And fly, we did. In a graceful dance, as if we were actually Seekers, darting around and chasing each other or the bright full moon that we'd visited the day before. A random cloud that was floating harmlessly by was destroyed, as it was in our path. Flight, one of man's greatest achievements. Natural flight, well… Maybe one day.

When I looked at Optimus, it was the first time that I saw a real, genuine smile since I told him that I loved him two, almost three years ago. When we approached a small pool of water and I could help but splash some into his regal features. He laughed as we soared higher and I grinned at the sound. It had been a while since I heard one of those, as well. Optimus—well, Orion, was actually enjoying himself right now. And I was glad that I could help him do that.

* * *

It was late at night when we returned from our night flight. I had to get back soon, as my patrol shift would start soon. Thanking Optimus with a loving kiss on his cheeks (after hovering to reach them), I entered the base, a large grin still present on my face. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker came from patrol to trade with me soon after.

When they returned to their own quarters for some recharge, I set out and began to walk around the perimeter of the base, glancing at the sky every once and a while. It was quiet out here, with the exception of passing cars and airplanes. At one point, I thought I heard the faint sound of a gunshot coming from the other side of the base, but I must have been hearing things. There was no reason for anyone to be up this late with the exception of patrols, monitor duty, or just being unable to sleep. I didn't expect to see anything that would concern me. Patrols normally go that way on our base. But… I also did not expect to see a large, pink leg lying flat on the ground as I rounded a corner.

I arched an eyebrow and one of my hands began to glow as I prepared to put up a fight if necessary. Instead of walking, I began to float across the asphalt, making sure my feet didn't touch the ground, alerting anyone that I was there. As I got closer, I was able to make out a Cybertronian body. There were only two Cybertronians on base that were pink, Arcee and Elita-1. Only one of the two had legs.

A strong wave of worry crashed into me as I neared her, looking over her body to see what was wrong. And then I saw it. In the center of her chestplates was a large, gaping hole. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. Her optics were dull, gray, lifeless. She was… offline. I commed Optimus and Ratchet first, letting them know that I just found Elita-1 on base grounds, a giant hole in her chest and swimming in a pool of her own energon. It was horrific for me, even considering our rough past.

While it took us a while to finally get along, I wouldn't wish this on her. It was obvious that this was a 'Con's doing. Finally, Optimus and Ratchet arrived on the scene, mouths agape, and optics wide. The former looked deeply saddened and both looked shocked. Actually, shocked is an understatement. I thought that Optimus was going to faint on the spot.

I didn't dare meet his optics. "I'm sorry," I murmured. "I just… found her here. I don't know who could have done it. Obviously it was a 'Con, but… the Twins didn't say anything."

I heard him sigh deeply as he gently lifted her body and held her in his arms. "It's not your fault," he said lowly, walking back into the base. My feet hit the ground lightly as I looked at the energon on the ground.

"Should I stay?" I asked Ratchet without looking at him. "Or do you think I should give him a moment alone?"

The medic sighed and went to kneel down in front of me. "He loved her before he met you, but before _that_, they were close friends. I think he needs a shoulder to lean on." He paused. "His femme's shoulder."

I nodded at him and smiled.

* * *

After Optimus told everyone the news, he came back to his quarters, holding my hand tightly. When we got back to his quarters, we immediately went to his berth and he sat me on his lap. "Hey," I said gently. "How do you feel?"

He sighed and frowned. "I don't know."

I clicked my tongue and looked him in the optic. "Listen, if you're sad, I won't mind — if that's why you said that. She was your friend and at one point, she was your sparkmate. If you need to mourn, then mourn," I whispered.

Optimus looked down and shook his head. "Spade…"

"You've always been everyone's shoulder. I'm gonna be yours," I murmured gently. "It's not like I'm asking you to cry."

He breathed a humourless laugh and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding on to me like a lifeline. "How did we miss it? A wound that size in her chestplates? It had to be a gunshot and it had to be a Decepticon."

We became silent for a long time. I sighed deeply and kissed his chestplates right over where his spark lay. "What are you going to do with her body?"

"We're going to melt it down after accessing her processors to find the murderer."

I was a little surprised. "You sure?"

"Yes... On Cybertron, this was normally how things went. But if the Cybertronian requested that their body was to be kept as it is before their death, then that's the way it would be. Elita told me before one of her missions with a group of her femmes that she wanted to be melted down. I was surprised that she had such low hopes of returning home."

"And… that was the day you thought that she had been killed, wasn't it?" I asked him softly.

"Yes," he replied simply. And we remained there in silence. Eventually, I fell into troubled recharge with the Prime's arms wrapped around me tightly. He wasn't willing to lose me tonight. Or ever, actually. Someone had been murdered on our base, underneath our noses. How did the Twins miss it? I don't think that they would actually do that to Elita. What did _they_ have against her, if anything? I could only hope that this happened to her after their watch was over.

* * *

I couldn't sleep last night. I woke up shortly after falling asleep. There were too many questions racing around in my head. About an hour into his recharge, Optimus realized that he couldn't do it either. We stayed up until it was time for us to do our jobs and everyone else was awake too. It was finding her that way, a single gunshot wound focused in the dead center of her chestplates, lying in a pool of her own energon. And it bothered me even more that I was capable of making a clean shot like that. Did I do it without realizing it?

No, no, no. I wouldn't. I had a reason to do that two and a half years ago. But she apologized and it was sincere and kind and genuine and… Fuck! Why did this happen? She actually became one of my friends! Albeit not as close as Mikaela, the Arcee triplets, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Jazz, I still considered her a friend after the apology!

A brief pang of guilt hit me when I remembered something. I heard a gunshot on the other side of the base. All I did was dismiss it as a trick of my mind when someone had actually been killed on _my _watch! This might as well be my own fault! But then again, she would probably be dead by the time I got there and nothing could have saved her. There was a single wound on her body when I found her, besides a few small scratches on her paint that had absolutely nothing to do with her death. But at least I would have found the culprit then. Like Optimus said, there was no one on base with a reason to kill her as far as we knew. And I don't count because I haven't had a reason in over two years. Since she and Optimus split, she had been a little distant from the other 'Bots. Unless she did something that we don't know about, then no one should have had a grudge against her.

This had to be a Decepticon's doing, but how did we not notice one entering or escaping the base? My brain was starting to hurt now. All the questions racing through my head were making the pain worse. Jumping down from a flat shield that I created, I made my way to Prime's quarters only to remember the large mountain of datapads I saw on his desk this morning. Sighing softly, I instead went to the medbay where Mikaela was bound to be located.

When I got there, there was tension in the air. Elita's body was lying on a berth, covered by a large white sheet. Greeting Ratchet and Mikaela, I sat down on another berth, the one that was furthest away from her body. It was already disturbing enough to be in there with her, creating an uneasy feeling in my belly.

"How's it going?" Mikaela asked. I created a flat shield and waited for her to step on it before letting it rise. Once she climbed off and stepped onto the berth, I let the shield disappear and sighed when she sat down next to me. I activated my holoform and looked at Mikaela.

"Not too good. You?"

"Same."

"I heard a gunshot last night. Probably when she was killed, but… I thought nothing of it. Dismissed it as a trick of my mind."

She grasped my holoform's hand. "Don't let it get to you. I saw the wound and so did you. So you and I both know that there was nothing that you could do. It was an instant kill."

"God, don't say that," I whispered.

"But you need to hear this. Optimus knows that it wasn't your fault. We all do."

"But it _is _my fault. Hell, even it isn't, if I hadn't dismissed the sound, then I could have at least flown over there to find the killer before he does something like this again."

"Spade…"

"We didn't even get anything on the security feeds!"

She looked taken aback. "Really?"

"The cameras in the area were destroyed before it happened. Plus, the footage was stolen that night from all of the feeds." I shook my head.

"Well, we still have one lead."

"We do?" I asked. Then, it hit me. "Oh yeah. Ratchet's gonna access her processors so we see can see what she saw before she died."

The brunette nodded. "Yep. It'll take a few hours though. Elita still has a lot of firewalls that we have to get through before we can get to her processors. Ratchet said it can take up to two days before we break through."

My jaw dropped. "Two days?!"

"Yeah, that's what I said. But as the femme commander, she got these firewalls to protect valuable information from 'Cons like Shockwave and Soundwave. Optimus, Prowl, and Jazz have advanced firewalls like hers too. It became a required thing to do after an incident on Cybertron while Sentinel was still in command. The 'Cons captured his SIC and easily gained access to private information about the location of their base, their plans for future attacks… a lot of mechs and femmes died when they attacked the base."

"Huh. Ratchet's taught you a lot, hasn't he?" I replied. She smiled and looked at the medic. He chose to stay out of our conversation, strangely.

"Yep. He's gonna let me help with breaching the firewalls."

I smiled at her fond expression. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks," she replied.

We sat quietly for a few minutes before something else came to mind. The Twins are fiercely loyal to Optimus and their cause. If they would have seen a Decepticon on base, then they would have alerted everyone immediately and fought back. In addition to that, there were energon detectors on base. Wheeljack built them so that they recognized the Autobots' signatures whenever they were around. And he made sure that Sentinel's energon signature was put into their systems as soon as he was delivered to the medbay. They were still intact and functioning perfectly. Not a single one went off that night during our patrol. Unless the 'Cons found a way to get around them, they _couldn't_ have been the ones to do it…

"Ratchet," I murmured. The mech in question looked up from a datapad and walked over to us.

"Is everything alright, Spade?" he asked.

"The energon detectors never went off last night. And they're loud as hell when they do, so I would have noticed. Everyone would have noticed." The medic tensed as he gazed at me. I became worried and shifted uncomfortably. "Ratchet?"

"If they didn't off last night, that means that either the Decepticons found a loophole or… there's a traitor within the ranks."

I gulped and looked at Mikaela. The brunette looked just as nervous as I did. A traitor within the ranks?

"No one had a reason to kill Elita. I'm sure that she would have fought back had it been a Decepticon. The scratches on her paint were old, so she didn't have a chance. Based on examination, Ironhide confirmed that whoever killed her stood in front of her and took the shot. She didn't even have time to scream. We're gonna find out who it was. And that person will be killed on sight if it is indeed a traitor. But whoever it is had an accomplice. So for the next two days, you'll have to remain on high alert. Mikaela, I will personally escort you to wherever you need to go."

I smirked at that, but it faded quickly. This was quite troubling. Optimus trusts all of his soldiers with his life. And to know that there was someone on base, stabbing him in the back, well… it made my energon boil. And by the looks of it, the thought of a traitor pissed Ratchet off too.

"Well, at least you have a knight in chartreuse armour to protect you, Mikaela," I said to lighten the mood. The brunette's look darkened and the next thing I knew, there was a dull ache in my right temple. Glaring at Ratchet, I saw that he was smirking, but he wasn't holding a wrench. Oh, my God. "You know what, Ratchet's apparently taught you too much, 'Kaela," I snorted. The girl was holding a wrench of her own in her hand. She smirked and stood up, placing it back in her pocket.

"No, I'd say this is pretty useful," she replied back, a smug grin present on her face.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some firewalls to breach."

* * *

**That's the end of the chapter! And in case you were wondering, EPT stands for extreme plot twist. Well, I think it was extreme, but it's debatable.**

**Denali Prime out!**


	6. Unnaturally Tired

**Chapter 6- Unnaturally Tired**

**Sorry this chapter was late this time around. I was having a mild case of writer's block, due to school starting back. Oh, joy. Please note the somewhat evident sarcasm in the previous sentence.**

* * *

As I made my way back to my quarters, I received a comm from Ratchet. He asked me to make sure I didn't mention the processor hack to anyone on base. It turns out that only he, Optimus, Mikaela, Prowl, and I know about it. And I suppose that's what's best for us. If there is a traitor in the ranks, he or she would probably go after the ones that can find out who it is first. Because of this, we also had to 'Bots guarding the medbay at all times.

To my surprise, we were keeping Sentinel out of the loop as well. Of course, I was expecting the former leader to be notified of the procedure. But then again, it was understandable. Sentinel still needed time to get used to being around us and the humans, as it was his first time being with this group in particular. Truth be told, we were all suspects, but some of us were more suspicious than others.

I went to the training room specifically designed for me and my deadly orbs so I could practice and maybe discover some new moves. I realized over time that besides the ability to heal and protect, Allspark's energy can only be used as a weapon. So that probably means that the power of Allspark isn't all it's cracked up to be or I'm doing something wrong. It's most likely the latter, as it has been around longer than my race's existence itself.

With that in mind, I tried to think of things that I had seen in anime and TV shows in the past. Some characters could use energy that is similar to Allspark's to grab things. I created an orb, but instead of simply releasing it, I concentrated on its shape and tried to morph it into something more. I backed up and tried to focus on making the orb stay in place, thereby stretching it in a sense. Much to my shock, my plan worked and the bright blue orb was now a bright blue whip-like thing.

Testing out its stability and my control over it, I moved my arm in worm-like fashions to try and get the energy "arm", as I have decided to call it, to move in the same way. But it didn't work and I just looked like an idiotic version of Squidward Tentacles.

Then I thought back to the anime and shows. It wasn't that they moved their arms in the fashion they wanted the energy to move in. It was that they commanded it in their mind. Of course! I keep forgetting the key to using Allspark's energy: concentration. All I really had to do was think about how I wanted to the energy to move. Even when it doesn't seem like that's what I'm doing whenever I use it, this has to be so, as there is no other way for the energy to be controlled. This was the secret. This was how I was going to kick ass on the battlefield.

To prove my theory correct, I thought of how I wanted the energy arm to move. It swayed from left to right and up and down, similar to a transverse wave. And it was all because I mentally commanded it to. But doesn't that mean that I should be able to create shields and orbs and arms without even using my hands? Excitement was beginning to boil up inside me. I dropped my hand and let the energy arm fall to the ground. It shattered and turned into a bluish mist that came straight back to me.

Then, I concentrated on the power of Allspark once again and commanded an orb to form in front of me. In the process, I subconsciously closed my eyes and opened them when I thought that the orb would be there. And to my shock, it actually was, pulsing and floating like a spark without a host. I was happier than a witch in a broom store right about now, but then I thought about it.

The naive side of me wanted to use my hands simply because it looked cooler than just standing and… blinking on the outside. I sighed and decided to continue with the energy arms. The whole point of this exercise was to see if I could use the arm to grab something or do something other than destroy. My bright blue eyes fell on a trashcan by the door. There was my object. Focusing on the energy arm, I directed it towards the trashcan and shaped it into a "thumb" and an "index finger". I closed the two "fingers" around the trashcan and lifted it into the air.

Success!

Spade Witwicky, you are awesome in ways that you can't imagine! I huffed at that thought. Now, I sounded a little too cocky, but I couldn't help that. Setting the trashcan down, I repeated my actions, but this time, I wanted to add more speed. Before long, I was able to create the energy arms and grab something as fast as I could create orbs and shoot them at something.

"Impressive," a deep baritone said a few feet away from me. I jumped and glanced to the source of the voice, sighing in relief when I saw that it was only my dearest mech. Optimus was sitting on a Cybertronian sized bench that was placed in the most-Allspark-proof training room. I wasn't sure if it was in there for me to rest every once in a while or if it was for spectators to come by and watch me destroy stuff. But it seemed that Optimus was using it for the latter. He had a warm and impressed smile on his face that told me that he had been there for a while.

"Thank you, sweetspark. Now, would you care to tell me how long you've been there? Because I'm a little disappointed that I didn't notice you come in. That means I'm not good enough an Autobot," I replied.

The Prime frowned and stood up. "Spade, before I answer your question, let me say this: do not beat yourself up over not noticing me come in. You've only been fighting alongside us for a year. It's going to take time for you to reach your full fighting potential."

I bit my bottom lip and nodded as he walked closer to me. I could feel the heat radiating off of his body and couldn't help but lean into him. In response he wrapped one arm around me and used the other to run his fingers through my hair. I wrapped my own arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chestplates, listening to the pulse and rhythm of his spark.

"But, if you must know, I have been here for ten minutes. And you've been here for the past four hours," he rumbled. I gasped and looked up at him.

"Four hours?!" I nearly yelled. Did I really sit in here and do the exact same thing for four hours? Why am I so obsessed with this power? Is this me losing control or something? Is this a craving for _more _power?

"I am not sure but I don't believe that you are losing control," Optimus said. I frowned at him.

"What? You can read minds and didn't tell me?" I asked. Optimus chuckled.

"No, but you asked those questions out loud."

"Ah. But I think I should see Ratchet when they are done checking Elita's processors. I don't feel comfortable about using Allspark's energy anymore."

He hummed and cupped the side of my face. "If you truly feel that this is a craving for more power or anything of the sort, then take a break from using Allspark's energy. It may help to separate from it for a while."

"Yeah… that sounds like a good idea. And by the way, I've decided to say ASE instead of Allspark's energy all the time. That's too many syllables."

Optimus laughed and nodded. "Of course." I yawned and closed my eyes. He held me for a few more seconds before he pulled back and gently said, "It's late. Come to bed."

I rubbed at my left eye and sleepily replied, "But I haven't had any energon today. Can I get some before I recharge?"

He kissed my forehead. "I'll bring it to you."

* * *

I was waiting in Optimus and my shared quarters, swinging my legs off the side of the berth slowly. He returned with two cubes of low grade energon in one hand and a datapad in the other. I arched an eyebrow at the datapad.

"Aren't you planning on recharging with me, Mr. Workaholic?" I teased. He gave me a smile and handed me one of the cubes.

"I will, sweetspark, but there is one last thing that I need to take care of before I do. It won't take too long," he replied, drinking from his cube.

"That's what you always say," I pouted and took a sip from my own cube. That one sip made me realize how thirsty I really was, so I downed the rest of it pretty quickly.

"I mean it this time. I have one last report to read and then, I'll be done for the night."

I sighed and gave him a sleepy grin. But things were starting to get blurry and there were three Primes instead of one. I struggled to get my vision back in check and looked over my equilibrium. It was in perfect condition and I seriously doubted that I was that tired. But to my shock, Optimus looked the same way, as if he was about to collapse at any second. He struggled to say something, but instead, he fell over and dropped the datapad and the cube of energon. I tried to call out, but instead, I repeated his actions and was enveloped by darkness, grunting when my body hit the ground.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter took so long and was just a little boring and short. But like I said, I'm having a school-induced writer's block. See you next time, whenever that'll be.**

**Denali Prime out.**


	7. Oxidize and Rust

**Chapter 7- Oxidize and Rust**

**Guess what?! Age of Extinction comes out on DVD on the 30th of this month! Yay! Even though that's true, I'll have to watch it a few times before I continue on to that story so I can fully understand the movie and… memorize the script. Sorry… And I don't think that I'll be posting a side-story to DOTM either. Sorry again… Anyway, here's the next chapter. **_**And **_**my schedule's been adjusted so I won't be updating every Wednesday like I used to. Sorry for the third time. Don't worry because I have a lot of good ideas for this story. In fact, I've been pretty excited to start on this one in particular because of that. No more rambling, here you go.**

* * *

**-Normal POV-**

The next day, Spade was called to the entrance gate. Apparently, there was a scuffle between the Autobots and Decepticons, but then again, was there ever a time when there _wasn't?_ She huffed and walked outside and waited for the trouble to arrive here.

Sideswipe and Bumblebee zoomed through the gates and the former transformed quickly. Bumblebee's door opened and Sam came out, panicky and yelling things at Lennox. He was already aware of the current situation. There were 'Cons everywhere. Spade smirked. Sentinel transformed behind her and she tensed for a second. She wasn't ready.

"You have to protect Sentinel because he's the key to the whole thing," Sam said, pointing at the large, red Prime.

"Indeed I am. But what you must realize, my Autobot brothers, is that we were never going to win the war." Spade swore that everyone who was listening to the conversation stiffened and looked at the elder Prime. Just as he said that, Optimus came out of the base and glanced her way. He was giving Sentinel a bemused look and his fingers twitched. She almost felt sorry for him.

"For the sake of our planet's survival, a deal had to be made…" Her entire body tensed again, painfully this time. "…with Megatron." Optimus's optics widened before she heard the familiar sound of the cocking of a gun. She spun around and gasped before Sentinel fired.

It wasn't the accuracy of the bullet that was killing her. And while the bullet was pointblank, carefully directed to the center of her back near the location of her spark, she still could have survived it. No, it definitely wasn't the accuracy. And when another shot was fired, this time into her abdomen, she realized why. It brought a pain that she's never felt in her existence—albeit rather short—a distinct form of agony that could only be described as rusting away, slowly. Strangely, she was… literally rusting away. It was the shot, the ammo, itself. Cosmic rust. Regular rust could never have this effect on a Cybertronian, at least not at these speeds.

And there was yet another source of pain. The rust would eat away at her body until there was nothing left but a sparkless corpse. Pit, not even that. When it killed her—when, no ifs or buts; the results were guaranteed—she knew that there would be no chance for her revival should the war end in her favour. Because there would be nothing left.

The pain was unbearable, coming in hard and fast as the rust ate away at her very being. She was sure that if the rust wasn't going to kill her, the feeling of rusting away would. Too much pain can kill. But she found a small, diminutive fragment of comfort at knowing that it would be over soon. Megatron wouldn't be a threat to her anymore and she could be free.

The distant screams of military and Autobot friends and family rang in her ears. Then Sentinel fired again, one last shot that silenced her own pained yells. Before she died, she caught sight of the girl's lover, his pained sapphire optics staring in shock at the degenerating body that was Spade. He paid almost no mind to the murderer, even as he escaped, firing a few more shots, narrowly missing their young scout. Optimus took slow steps toward his dying mate and was careful not to touch her. The cosmic rust could jump from one Cybertronian to another through direct contact as long as it was still active.

He found no words to express his sorrow, the regret he felt at letting Sentinel, his own _sire _do this to the one he cared about most. The fact that it was for Cybertron made it no different, it was not an excuse. All the Autobots knew that their home planet was a lost cause. And the anguish blinded him to the damage around him. The younger Prime knew that words were pointless right now because Spade would not be able to verbally respond back to whatever he wanted to say. The rust finally took over, put her out of her misery, and ate the rest of her body, saving her head for last.

Optimus was numb. He ignored the voices that called out to him, trying his hardest not to touch the corroded body of his, now deceased, lover. While he wanted nothing more than to join her so that they could be free of the war together, he knew that she wouldn't want that. He knew that her naturally vindictive nature would cause her to, if in his position, pursue the murderer and take revenge for taking away what was hers. So, in her name, he would. Optimus couldn't care less who he was; in fact, it only made him angrier. It brought out a side to him that he didn't like. Hate fire, he believed Spade called it at one point in their relationship.

He received word that his sire—_no_, he could _never _call him that again—Sentinel escaped with the pillars, taking the lives of a handful of NEST soldiers, his beloved, and causing catastrophic damages to their base. But he wasn't stupid. This wasn't the last that they would hear from the corrupt Prime; that he knew.

* * *

"How is our test subject, Shockwave?" Megatron crooned, tilting his helm at the figure on the table. The Decepticon scientist pulled back from a computer screen and looked at his leader, his single red optic burning its gaze into the taller mech. "Hmm. I swear the femme was thirteen feet when we took her."

"Ah. She was, but the drug administered in her energon had an effect on her Cyberformation." He put in a few more codes and glanced at his leader. "She is ready, my Lord. All preparations have been completed. If you would like to speak to her, my Lord, then please, do not hesitate to ask," he replied. The warlord grinned and removed his cowl as he walked down the small flight of stairs to reach the table that held the figure of a female, white platinum hair, the strange height of fifteen feet tall.

"Good, good. I would love to speak with our newest addition to the Decepticon ranks. Would you mind waking her up, Shockwave?"

"Certainly, Lord Megatron." He nodded and began to press several buttons on the keyboard before him, his single blood red optic glued to the various equations and messages on the screen. A few seconds later, the female on the table groaned groggily as her eyes snapped open, revealing bright blue eyes that seemed to burn into your soul. The power radiating from her body made the guards in the room tense with anticipation as she blinked and made eye contact with Megatron. They all knew what she was capable of.

The warlord's grin turned into a sickeningly sweet smile, the faintest glint of ridicule in his glowing red optics. With annoyance, he flicked one of the small doctor bots that crawled over his face over into the nearest wall before putting all of his attention on the young, strange, woman in front of him.

"I hope you had a good recharge. You will be the perfect addition to our ranks. And, in replacement for the traitorous scum that I used to refer to as my second in command, you will take his place."

The female only nodded, a dead look in her eyes. Megatron smirked at her and tilted his head back expectantly. "And who are you exactly?"

She frowned as a thoughtful look crossed her face, a mild sense of panic on her gentle, beautiful features. "I… I don't know. I don't know who anyone is…" She gulped. "Nor do I know why I am here. Please… tell me…"

The warlord released a loud, malevolent laugh, glancing at his scientist. "Shockwave, commence the download. When she wakes up again, I want her to know her purpose in this world. She will serve me and only me! And anyone below her will do the same!"

Shockwave smirked and input more codes that only he would understand, an evil glint in his optics as the female on the table was unconscious once again.

* * *

"Well?" Megatron asked impatiently. It had been hours since he'd spoken to the woman, as she was still in stasis. Shockwave gazed at his leader before examining her again.

"She is ready, my Lord. Her power is yours." Megatron smirked and went down the flight of stairs again, waving his hand at Shockwave as his signal to wake the woman up.

When she did, she had a new, altered appearance. Her platinum white hair was now a dark, jet black colour. Electric crimson eyes glanced at Megatron evilly, the same smirk now present on her lips. The bonds holding her down were removed so that she could address her new leader properly.

The smirk on Megatron's face quickly disappeared as he went into full blown warlord mode. "What is your status?" he snapped.

"Second in command to you, Lord Megatron!" she replied curtly.

"Why are you here?" he asked in the same tone used to ask the previous question.

"To serve you and defeat our enemies."

"Who are our enemies, _your _enemies?" he drawled, another smirk playing on his lip plates.

"Optimus Prime and his Autobots, as well as the insects that swarm this planet."

Megatron grinned approvingly and began to walk back up the stairs. But before he did so, he asked her one last question. "You should remember this, now. What is your name?"

A shadow covered her eyes as her smirk turned into a wide, toothy grin.

"My name is Spade, Lord Megatron."

* * *

**Yes, I did just do that. The story will continue, but not until the end of the month or early October. I'll have Age of Extinction by then. Leave a review and tell me what you thought, but no flames. They'll be used burn the spider webs in my house.**

**Denali Prime out.**


	8. The Cybernet Hazard

**Chapter 8- The Cybernet Hazard**

**Welcome back! I have some good news: I will have Age of Extinction on my possession sometime tomorrow, so it won't be long before I have the next installment posted. **BookObsessed2373**, thank you so much for your review! I'm glad that you enjoy the series; thanks again for reading!**

**And I understand that there was some confusion about the last chapter, so **Cutie Kyuubi, **this chapter will answer you question. Hopefully. I mean, I think it will. I should really start putting dates on these so that you guys know what happened on whatever day.**

**When in full sentences, **_italics_** is a story from the past being explained.**

* * *

**-September 2, 2011-**

Optimus was pissed. That much was obvious. The angry growl of his engine could be heard as he broke several speed limits to chase the corrupt Prime that he used to call his sire. And his aura itself had shifted from calm, responsible, and neutral to enraged, reckless, and angry. The pure ire and red tint seen in his optics before he transformed shook even the strongest of mechs to their cores. It wasn't often that they saw their leader like this.

He was unwilling to reason with Sentinel at this point. He destroyed his base, injured his soldiers and human allies, and worst of all, he killed his mate in cold energon. Spade was far too young to go down, and he loved her more than he ever did Elita. The cosmic rust ate her body until there was hardly anything left. What was he to do without her? What did he have to fight for now? That's right. His soldiers, human allies, and her family.

Tracking Sentinel had led him to the Lincoln Memorial. There in Abraham's seat was an injured Megatron with Igor drooling at his feet and Soundwave and Shockwave standing at his side. Just as he thought. Starscream was no longer his SIC because of what happened a little more than two years ago. Sentinel stood in front of him with the pillars that both he and the Decepticons had stolen. He made brief optic contact with the younger Prime and smirked evilly. It left a bad taste in Optimus' mouth.

"Sentinel," he growled out. Igor shrieked and hid behind Megatron's leg at the deep hatred on the younger Prime's face. Megatron would never admit this out loud, but the look in his younger brother's optics bothered him. He remembered when he killed Elita-1 a few million years ago. It was terrifying watching his normally calm, merciful brother slaughter every 'Con in sight and doing near irreparable damage to him at the next battle they had.

When he discovered that he had found a new mate, he saw something in Optimus. He was sure that if they weren't trying to kill each other that day in the forest that he would have been smiling. And when he fought him, the fierce protectiveness he had for the femme was stronger than ever. He knew that faking Spade's death was just as dangerous as actually killing her, as long as he never found out that she was still alive.

An angry Prime was a dangerous one, and he felt as if he was not alone with that thought when he noticed his TIC tense beside him. But his sire's sense of confidence practically oozed out of him, and he felt a little more powerful with that knowledge. After all, Sentinel had been the one to teach him everything he knew. For him, all of his brother' moves would be predictable.

"Oh, Optimus," Sentinel rumbled. He turned around with a straight face, but Optimus could tell that he was mocking him. "I am terribly sorry."

Some of the younger Prime's anger was replaced with fear when Sentinel turned again, put one of his servos atop the main pillar, and began a transport. "Activating the bridge. Commencing transport."

Optimus gasped as several Decepticons came through the bridge, yelling and snarling and blowing up everything in sight. This was part of their plan and Optimus was worried as to how far the Decepticons were willing to go. By the time the bridge was sealed, he had counted at least 200 new Decepticons coming into forbidden territory.

When he heard Megatron's chuckle behind him and saw the new, cruel amusement in Sentinel's optics, his glare and anger returned with full force. "What you are witnessing, brother, is the beginning of a new era for Cybertron. The era where I rule and everymech bows to me. Let it be known that we couldn't have done this without your dearest ex-sparkmate."

Optimus narrowed his optics. "What are you talking about, Megatron?"

The Decepticon leader grinned. "Allow me to explain, sire." Sentinel nodded. "When you decided that Elita-1 was no longer good enough to be your sparkmate, she came to us.

_Elita huffed in frustration and anger and… pain. She came back, fully ready to embrace her mate for the first time in millions of years, and he rejects her, saying that his spark was with someone else. She already had a feeling that she knew who it was. That stupid, white-haired fleshling. Why would he dump her for someone as low as a flesh creature?! She increased her speed and commed Soundwave. If she could not have him, then no one could._

"Soundwave, having predicted her betrayal, commed her before she landed on Earth. Of course, she dismissed his call as irrelevant. But when she saw you with the white-haired femme…" Megatron paused and smirked. "She wasn't the happiest femme on the planet. While you two were nothing more than friends, everyone could sense that there was something between you two. And after you threatened to exile her for harming Spade, she left on her own… and came to us."

_When Elita arrived at the Decepticon base, she was welcomed with open arms, in a sense. It was disturbing to know that they were waiting for her. After she swore herself to the Decepticon cause, Megatron explained the plan that they'd had for years. And for it to work, they needed her to go back to the Autobot base and work undercover. She didn't expect the Autobots and NEST soldiers to allow her back without some questioning and suspicious looks, but over time, Elita had had some experience with acting. She thought that she would be able to pull it off._

"When she came back, the young blonde femme was there on base and so on and so forth. You already know that Starscream is no longer my SIC, don't you Prime?" Optimus was too shocked to speak. "It is because of him that we did not succeed in killing Spade then. But we still had the original plan and incorporated her death into it somewhere. We located the shard just a few days ago. Once you sent your scout, SIC, TIC, and mate to Mission City to find the shard, we passed it on to Elita so that she could revive him.

_Elita broke off from the others after receiving a comm from the 'Con with the shard. Everything was going according to plan. They would never suspect that she had the shard. As soon as they returned with Sentinel, she would revive him. Elita, however, was still puzzled as to why Megatron wanted her to revive him when Prime had the Matrix._

"I knew that you would hesitate with reviving Sire, so I took away your choice. As a thank you for her work, Sentinel… took care of her. There was more than one traitor in your ranks, dearest brother."

Optimus felt his knees weaken. He refused to believe that Elita would defect just because he moved on to someone new. "No… Sentinel, you were the one that killed her?"

"I had to eliminate any suspicion. But regardless, she was going to die. Just as all of our human accomplices have. We had to tie up some loose ends."

_Elita snuck into the medbay once Ratchet went to the energon storage room attached to it. She unsubspaced the Allspark shard and jammed it into Sentinel's chestplates. After that, she bolted and returned to her quarters before comming Megatron._

_**-August 29, 2011-**_

_It was late at night when Elita decided that she wanted some fresh air. She was feeling nervous, afraid that someone would discover what she was doing. She glanced up at the night sky and saw Cybertron in the distance with her enhanced optics. A smile graced her lip plates. _Soon, _she thought. At the sound of large pedesteps, she turned and faced Sentinel._

_He glanced at her oddly and appeared to be deep in thought before he gave the pink femme an empty smile. "Elita," he said in greeting. She nodded at him. "I have to thank you for reviving me. I honestly doubt that Optimus would have done it himself."_

_She grimaced. "Don't thank me—it's just business. You knew the—oh… I suppose you didn't know the plan."_

"_No. Not until after I was revived." He paused. "Speaking of which… I'm afraid that Megatron demands that some loose ends be taken care of." _

_Elita tensed. "Loose ends?"_

"_Mmm… Don't take this personally. It's just business." Before she had a chance to scream, Sentinel whipped out his blaster and fired a shot right into the center of her chestplates. The blast was powerful and it made a clean shot. Elita's look of shock almost made him feel guilty, as she was the one who revived him, but as she said, it was just business. Her optics blinked once before the bright blue orbs turned gray and her body collapsed onto the ground. Sentinel subspaced his blaster and walked off. When someone discovered her body, the first thing they would assume would be a Decepticon as the perpetrator. _

Technically, I guess this makes me a Decepticon, _he mused._

Megatron said nothing else, but to inflate his ego, he replayed the rest of his genius plan in his processors.

* * *

_Megatron contacted Richard Gould so that he could do his job. The fleshy was the older relative of another fleshy that they were working with. While he hated all humans, he tried his best not to harm the Goulds. They had been working together for a while now, and without their help, they wouldn't have been able to accomplish what they had. Of course, he would never admit that out loud and he was fully aware that the Goulds were forced into helping them, but they always had the choice to die if they refused._

_Richard's job was to drug the energon and other drinks on the Autobot base. This plan had been their backup ever since Spade came into the picture. They had long since delivered the drug to the base so that this work could be done. _

_Megatron was aware that killing Spade would not be the easiest thing in the world to do. He would have to catch her off guard, but even that was tricky. And he doubted that there would be a moment where she was away from any of the other Autobots long enough for them to take her out. If they could not kill her, then they would have resort to the other method that he had grown to hate: fake it. Shockwave created enough pretenders to last them a while. They were supposed to be soulless machines in essence, but since a spark was required to power them, they would go down sentients. It didn't matter, though, as long as they got the job done._

_Shockwave used the image of Spade to create the pretender. He factored in her unusual height, platinum white hair, electric blue eyes, everything to make the pretender look and feel like the femme he hated almost as much as his weaker, younger brother. Once Spade was killed he would break. And he would rule the new Cybertron the way it should have been ruled._

_The drug, once consumed, would put whoever drank it into an 18 hour recharge. After it was in the system of any Cybertronian or human, there was no stopping it and it was nearly impossible to wake them up from it. _

_Richard and Sentinel would let the Decepticons know when everyone was in recharge and then, they would go in for the femme. Sentinel entered the unlocked quarters of his creation and his mate, smirking at the sight of both of them pathetically sprawled on the ground. It was almost too easy to accomplish this. He grabbed Spade by the back of her shirt and reported his status to Megatron. He, Richard, and the stolen femme left the base grounds and waited for the other team of Decepticons to deliver the pretender. _

_Once the pretender was there, they traded off, the other Decepticons taking Spade and Richard back to their base, and Sentinel placing the pretender on the ground next to Optimus back in his quarters. With everything done, he returned to his own quarters and fell into recharge._

"Sentinel," Optimus snarled again. Abruptly, he broke into a sprint and charged his sire. The other mech frowned and ran off, not willing to let the battle do any damage to his pillars. The two Primes ran, ducking and ripping trees and clumps of dirt and grass out of the ground. The older of the two fired his cosmic rust gun a few times behind him, but he refused to stop running. They were still way too close to his pillars.

Optimus dodged the shots and commed the others. ::Autobots, retreat!:: He picked up the speed and slammed into Sentinel, bringing them both to ground. The latter grunted and the small battle began. Sentinel, having taught Optimus himself, knew how he fought and the younger's moves were his own. It was an easy fight and he had his double-bladed Primax blade at his creation's neck, pinning him against a statue. Optimus stilled and looked him in the optics.

"Why?" he asked simply. He almost sounded broken and Sentinel took sick pleasure out of that. Unlike Megatron, he didn't fear the Prime's rage at losing his mate. This time, it was different. Since the fleshing was his second mate, he predicted that Optimus would feel as if he didn't deserve to have one at all, should he or she be killed. Sentinel knew that if he or she died, that Optimus would feel as if he had nothing else to live for and that was his goal. As long as he thought that Spade was dead, he was significantly weakened. He couldn't be too sure, however, so he made sure that Megatron contacted Dylan Gould for their… other plans.

"Didn't I already explain it to you, Optimus?" he practically purred before growling and slamming the younger's helm into the statue behind him, leaving a significantly large crack in the marble. "It's for Cybertron, for our home! What war destroyed, we can rebuild, but _only_ if we join with the Decepticons! You aren't willing to sacrifice a single femme for the sake of hundreds of other lives?"

"Cybertron is dead! Nothing can change that, Sentinel, nothing short of the Allspark! If you want to rebuild Cybertron, then why did you bring those Decepticons here?!"

The corners of his lip plates twitched, but he said nothing. If he told him now, then he would try to stop him, regardless of the femme's 'death.'

"This is our home, Sentinel! We must defend the humans!"

"So lost you are, Optimus. On Cybertron, we were gods. And here… they call us _machines_." He practically spat the last word. "Let them serve us or perish." He pulled away and walked off. "You're lucky I didn't kill you."

"You didn't answer my question." Sentinel stopped. "Why? Why did you kill Spade? Is it because I was with a human? Could you really be so juvenile?"

"She had too much power and she would have fought back. One of her orbs can kill a Decepticon as easily as I could kill a human. She was a threat to us. To Cybertron and her future. I'm doing this for our _future, _Optimus."

Optimus lunged up and unsubspaced his energon sword, but Sentinel blocked it at the last minute. He grunted and pushed him back. "In time, Optimus, you will see."

"It's not over." He knew that he was outnumbered. He couldn't fight them all on his own, so he decided to create a plan once he returned to base. Optimus transformed and sped off.

* * *

**-September 3, 2011-**

The next day, Optimus gathered Spade's remains and delivered them to the room where Elita's body lay and he frowned—she no longer had a place here, as she was partly responsible for this. The cosmic rust was no longer active. But the leader couldn't stand to hold it. It tore at his spark, carrying the rusted remains of his beloved.

Spade. She was so young. So full of life and energy and sex jokes. He smiled fondly. When he told her that he loved her, he was overjoyed and was far too tempted to take her away from her college and let her stay with him at the base when she said she felt the same. He sighed and sat her remains on a pedestal. Her name was engraved on the wall above it.

He released a shaky sigh and left the room. He was sure that he would break down if he remained in there.

"Optimus," someone said. He looked down at the small voice and saw Colonel Lennox at his feet. The man looked like he wanted to say something else, but he hesitated. "There's a message for all of us. It's from Sentinel."

Lennox tensed when he felt the aura around Optimus shift to something dangerous. He was surprised that the older mech was still alive, even after Spade was killed. Optimus knelt down and offered his hand. Lennox stepped onto it and he rose up again, walking to the main part of the base.

Immediately, a hundred pairs of eyes and fourteen pairs of optics were on the two. "Optimus and Colonel Lennox have arrived," Prowl said.

General Morshower nodded and his face disappeared, replacing it with a wavelength. "Defenders of Earth," Sentinel's voice began. "We have come for your natural resources to rebuild our damaged planet. When we have transported all we need, we will leave your world in peace." Out of the corner of his optic, he saw Sam twitch and hold his wrist unpleasantly. "For such peace to exist, you must immediately exile the Autobot rebels you have harboured. Nonnegotiable. Renounce the rebels. We await your reply."

That was it. They were being kicked off of the planet. Even after all they had done, Optimus didn't doubt for a second that the humans would come to an agreement and exile them. He understood what Sentinel meant when he said natural resources, but he didn't say anything. He wanted one of the humans to figure it out. If voiced his idea before they figured it out on their own, it would only seem as if they agreed with the 'Bots because they wanted them to stay on the planet. But it seemed as if some of them were already catching on.

"Natural resources?" Mikaela hissed. "Natural resources?! What do they want, the fucking trees?!" Simmons rolled up beside her in his wheelchair. His expression was grim.

"The criminal here has a point," he said. He ignored the indignant slap to the back of his head. "What natural resources could the 'Cons possibly want from us? Their planet is made completely out of metal."

Good. They understand now.

"Then what the hell do they want? There isn't anything natural here that could benefit them!" someone else said.

_They almost have it_, Optimus thought to himself.

"It's us," Lennox's statement silenced the room. Everyone looked up at him, as he was still situated in the Prime's palm. "We are the only ones that could benefit the 'Cons. Right… Optimus?" He turned and looked him in the optic. Now, all eyes and optics were on the leader.

"I'm afraid Colonel Lennox may be correct. There is nothing on this planet that could be used to rebuild Cybertron, besides a weaker labour force. Someone that they can easily control. If my suspicions are correct, then the Decepticons plan to take humans and enslave them. At this point however, with so many human lives already lost, I fear that there is nothing that we can say to change the minds of the humans. They have already made their decision."

Immediately, the room was in uproar. He expected this reaction. Over these past two years, Optimus and his soldiers developed relationships with most of the NEST soldiers on base. Ratchet had his human lover, Sam's best friend was Bumblebee, and Ironhide and Chromia saw Lennox and his family as their own. But there were tight friendships between the other mechs and NEST soldiers as well. They were all brothers and sisters here, besides those who have sparkmates—Optimus sighed sadly—or mates.

Even General Morshower seemed troubled by this, but he knew that he couldn't say anything. "Prime is right for sure on one thing. The agreement is official—they are exiling you." The yelling became louder and more vicious. Optimus even saw a few salty drops of water fall from the eyes of Mikaela. He came to find out that they were tears, which are released in times of pain and sadness or extreme happiness. He doubted the latter was being expressed right now.

"I'm sorry, but there really is nothing that we can do. It's already all over the news. This also means that NEST is to be disbanded, effective immediately after the departure of the Autobots." Morshower paused. "I'm sorry," he said again. Optimus privately commed all of his Autobots and told them to prepare for their leave. He promptly ignored the shocked looks he received. It wasn't as if anything _he _said would change the humans' minds.

* * *

**-September 4, 2011-**

Optimus and his Autobots were travelling to the space shuttle they used to house the _Xantium. _The Wreckers were there, spitting out less insults today. They knew about what happened to Spade and they were unwilling to do more emotional harm to their leader. They would never badmouth the fleshy anyway.

The others were glad. The empty look in Prime's optics was disturbing to say the least. Simmons, Sam, Mikaela, and even Leo joined them today, to say their goodbyes.

Mikaela was in tears as she held onto the holoform of Ratchet desperately. He felt another part of him screaming as he watched the medic give her one last kiss. At the sound of more tiny footsteps, he turned and faced Sam. The Prime was sure that he would miss this human the most.

"Optimus?" he began. There were distinct streaks on his cheeks. He had been crying on the way there. Optimus sighed.

"I am not sure if what your leaders said is true. I did not revive Sentinel, but—"

"Then it isn't your fault, Optimus," Sam cut him off. His voice broke as he spoke. "Don't blame yourself for this. Like you said, you didn't revive him."

"No. But I brought him here. And when he was revived…" Optimus stopped and closed his optics. "I told them who to trust. I was so wrong. Remember this, Sam. You may lose your faith in us, but never in yourselves." He felt something was off about the boy.

When he spoke, his voice broke again. "What about Spade?" Oh. He didn't think Sam would take it that far. He winced and directed his optics to anything other than the boy. At this point, Simmons and Mikaela were standing next to him. "You won't avenge her? Your own sire killed her in cold energon! She rusted away! Optimus!" he yelled.

"Sam," Mikaela breathed. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Spade…" Optimus began. The brunette looked up at him. "I told her that home is wherever she is, that she was my main reason for fighting. She was my main reason for doing anything reckless. It was for her sake, more than anyone else's. But if she's not here, then…" Sam's eyes leaked fresh tears. "I couldn't protect her, Sam. I'm so sorry." Optimus turned halfway and examined Sam out of the corner of his optic. There was something seriously off about him right now. The Prime realized that the new watch on Sam's arm appeared to be—and he hated to say this—far too expensive for his current budget. Spade told him about it before she was killed. With his budget, he should have been unable to purchase a watch such as that one—it had to be at least five hundred dollars.

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but he grunted and tugged at the arm that bore the watch. "Can you at least tell me how you're going to fight back?"

His sensitive audios picked up a distinct, high pitched sound coming from the piece of jewelry, so he scanned it. What he discovered startled him. It was a Decepticon latched onto his arm. He frowned, but quickly changed his expression to broken as it was before. Optimus knew that they were being watched, as he had witnessed the power of this piece of Decepticon technology in the past. The little 'Con had the ability to tap into the nervous system of a human or the cybernet system of a Cybertronian. They called it a Cybernet Hazard, as its original purpose was to attach itself to the cybernet system of a Cybertronian. Shockwave must have modified it so that its effects could be branched out to human nervous systems.

They were being watched. By whom, he did not know, but he at least knew that it was the Decepticons. Optimus knew how to put things together. Sam just asked how they were going to fight back right after he tugged on the arm that held the watch. He studied the effects of the technology and knew that whoever was watching had the power to control the device. Whoever was watching prompted Sam to ask him the question, meaning that he originally did not plan to ask in the first place. He had to have encountered a Decepticon before coming here, and his answer would determine the fates of his Autobots.

But what were they planning to do, should he say that yes, they did indeed have a plan? Did they already have ground forces in the area, ready to attack if he told him what the plan was? In truth, there was no plan. Of course, with the new information he now possessed, there was going to be one soon. He shuttered his optics before looking Sam in the eye.

"There is no plan," he said. Yet.

"If we just do what they want, how are we gonna live with ourselves?" Mikaela asked a hint of pleading in her tone.

"Sam, Mikaela. You are my friends. You always will be. But your leaders have spoken. From here, the fight will be your own."

Optimus turned and faced Bumblebee, who had been walking up to the three of them slowly. "Make it short," he said. "We're loading up."

The yellow mech nodded and knelt down in front of his friends. His radio switched on and he said, "We're gonna do whatever we can—make it like it was. You will always be my friends. I gotta be going on." He rose to his full height and turned around, not waiting for a response.

"Bee…" Sam breathed. He fell to his knees, broken sobs wracking his body. "This can't be happening. Bee!"

Another tear fell from one of Mikaela's eyes. She chose not to wear makeup today specifically for this purpose. The brunette bit her bottom lip and looked at Ratchet, who stood next to the _Xantium, _watching her silently. There was a solemn, morose look in his bright blue optics. "Ratchet!" Mikaela yelled. "I—I love you! If you can, try to reach me if you get the chance!"

Ratchet froze before he sighed deeply. He activated his holoform in front of the sobbing brunette and his arms wrapped around her. He held onto her tightly, inhaling the watermelon scent of her shampoo. "I love you too," he breathed, stroking her hair. "I'm sorry that things have to be like this." The medic pulled back and looked her in the eye. "But I promise you; we will meet again. I am not sure when, but we will." Ratchet cupped the side of her face and gave her one last, chaste kiss before his holoform fizzled out of existence.

* * *

**-on the **_**Xantium-**_

Optimus pulled the Wreckers to the side. "Leadfoot, Topspin, Roadbuster," he began. "I need to know this. On this ship, is there a place where we can all fit, besides here?"

Leadfoot and the other Wreckers looked puzzled, but he nodded slowly. "First booster rocket'll be cramped if we all got in there at once, but it's still possible."

Optimus nodded and faced all of his Autobots. Some, upon sensing the solemn gaze, looked to their leader. "Autobots, we have been lied to. While I spoke with Sam, I saw a Cybernet Hazard on his wrist." There were several gasps and growls amongst the crowd. "I can only imagine that the Decepticons were never planning to let us leave this planet at all. They will most likely attack us at some point on this ship. With that being said, all of us will remain in the first booster rocket. Once it separates and splashes down into the Atlantic, we will wait until we are believed to be gone or dead. Then, we will fight back!"

There were several cheers and hoots and ferocious yells coming from the 'Bots. They all began to migrate to the first booster rocket. As Leadfoot had warned him, it was indeed a tight fit, and someone's arm was lodged in his side. But it didn't matter, as long as they handled the situation once and for all.

* * *

**Sorry that the update took so long, but I've got a new schedule and it'll make it harder to update as often as I used to. Anyway, if you saw any errors, I'm sorry about that, but please let me know.**

**Denali Prime out!**


End file.
